’Baby dragons’ Olms hatch in Slovenia: 7 things about the enigmatic olm

The olm is living proof that there are more wonders in nature that man can dream of. The blind, amphibious cave dweller looks so alien, it was once thought to be the spawn of mythical creatures - dragons. But its oddities are remarkably adapted to one of the most isolated living environments in the world - the underground caves of Slovenia and Croatia. On Wednesday June 1st, the extremely rare hatching of two baby olms in Slovenia’s Postojna cave have re-awakened interest in them. Here’s more about the slithery salamanders: 1. ’BABY DRAGONS’ With their frilly gills, the olm does resemble a miniature dragon, a fantastical animal often depicted with frills on its neck. While they lived underground, they were sometimes washed out of the caves by rain. This probably gave medieval folk in the Balkans the notion that their mature counterparts, dragons, were hiding somewhere in the cavernous depths. 2. SUPER SENSES, BUT BLIND Living in the dark means that the olms’ eyes do not develop, but they have an array of o