Komodo Island Home of the Giant Lizard

Komodo National Park includes Komodo island and the neighbouring islands of Padar and Rinca and Flores. Komodo Island is far and away the home to the famous Komodo dragon(varanus komodoensis), the giant monitor lizard and perhaps the only living cousin of the dinosaur. The locals know them as ORA. They are thought to have swum from Africa and Asia during the age of the dinosaurs. These few islands between the Indonesian islands of Sumbawa and Flores are isolated, barren, and arid, and are surrounded by treacherous seas, factors that would have contributed to the lizard's resistance to extinction. Chinese traders knew about them in the 12th century and used their tough skins for native drums. Dragons are phenomenal swimmers, and their body fluids were used by the Chinese as "swimming medicine".

Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)
These huge three metre, 100 kg-monsters came to the attention of the Western world only in 1912, after a Dutch scientist published a description of them. Although the lizards came under legislative protection in 1915, hunting continued for 20 years-about 600 ora were killed or embalmed for museums. Fortunately most of Komodo was proclaimed as a National Park in 1980 and now visitors come there from all over the world.

These cold blooded creatures struggle to maintain their body temperature. They are constantly on the move, seeking shade in the day and warm burrows at night. They are most inactive in the midday heat and lie around panting, resisting the temptation of fresh food on the hoof even if it were to present itself.

The dragons have a formidable reputation when it comes to table manners. Their powerful tails immobilise a fleet footed victim and quickly disembowel it using rows of jagged, off-set, razor sharp teeth. The bacteria that flourishes in the dragon's mouth is virulent enough to cause the rapid onset of septicaemia. The tongue is a supersensory smell organ able to detect rotting carrion from as far as 11 kilometres. In the wild, dragon only feed about five times a year so it's usually a frenzy-a mass of slavering, hissing bodies that writhe and claw over each other to snatch the best pieces; antler, bone and fur are all eaten.

Their natural diet of native deer, buffalo, pigs and snakes is occasionally supplemented with generous bites of Homo Sapiens. The village chief's wife has a bite-sized piece missing from her thigh, and a fisherman attending to his net, lost more than a moment's concentration when a fast-moving dragon severed his foot. Yet, rather than kill them, the few hundred islanders have developed a healthy respect for Komodo Dragons.

Indonesia's "Jurassic Park"
On the strangely forebiding island of Komodo is the real life"Jurassic Park" of Indonesia. On visits to this remote island you can see the prehistoric lizard sleeping lazily in the sun or ready to pounce on its prey. The island can only be reached by boat after sailing through the dangerous whirlpools, eddies and fast currents of the Sape sea. Giant waves crash against towering limestone cliffs, whales flip their barnacle encrusted tails and large turtles float by. Beneath the hulls the water boils, and the abundance of diverse coral and marine life that thrive in the spectacularly clear waters are fed by the minerals discharged by the many active volcanoes in the area. Flying foxes (giant bats) swoop past at dusk, and a fiery sunset complete the prehistoric scene. Other exotic species on Komodo include the mound building megapode bird, the sulfur-crested cockatoo and the noisy friar bird.

Kampong Komodo, the only human habitation, is on the east side of the island, but buildings and accommodation appropriate to the reserve's new status as a National Park are to be constructed in Loh Liang(Liang Bay) to the north, where the Komodo people already maintain some gardens and there is year round water. The rest of the island is uninhabited, and the upland valleys are filled with deer and pig on which the big lizards prey, lying in wait, their huge bulk hidden by the long grass, beside their game's accustomed trails to and from water.

One story has it that the Sultan of Bima sent some prisoners to Komodo a few centuries ago, to await an horrific fate at the jaws of the lizards. Some prisoners survived, and their relatives live cautious live as fishermen in Kampong Komodo. Their wooden houses are built on stilts to deter hungry reptiles.

Visitor can moor their schooners at Loh Liang, Komodo's safest bay, and reach the coral encrusted shore by dug out canoe. Some stay overnight in the basic wood and thatch huts, but most prefer to sleep on their boats, leaving just after sunrise to walk the few kilometres uphill to the dragon's liar while it is cool, and the dragons are still letargic. Visitors are discouraged from exploring the island unaccompanied, and are escorted to the viewing platform where there are always a dozen or so dragons lurking in the shade.

Breeding activities
Since 1978 the government of Indonesia has taken a number of measures to conserve and propagate both endangered and other species of wildlife in captivity, in collaboration with international agencies, government organizations and other institutions. The Komodo dragon has been successfully bred in Surabaya Zoo since 1979. (Dept of Forestry,Dept of Tourism, Susan Storm/Garuda 9/95).