Komodo
Dragons—about 3000 in number—inhabit four grassy, tree-filled islands—Padar,
Rinca, Gili Motang, and Komodo—that make up the National Park with UNESCO World
Heritage status in Indonesia. These giant lizards—the largest in the world—can reach eleven
feet long and weigh two hundred pounds. Like monitor lizards, they have an
excellent sense of smell. A forked tongue determines if the smell is coming
from the right or left thanks to an organ in the roof of its mouth. A
Komodo lies in wait for its prey—maybe a buffalo, monkey, or deer—bites it on
the foot or ankle, and then follows the animal as it slowly dies from the
anticoagulants in two glands in the lower jaw. Komodos are carnivorous cannibals—quick to
eat young dragons if they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, the
young ones can climb trees.
Visitors can only see dragons in the company of a park ranger, which was fine with me. Almost immediately, we came across
a baby dragon as it marched across the grass. The babies are about the same
size as a monitor lizard, its smaller cousin. In fact, it’s hard to tell them
apart. Our walk continued along a woodsy path through the forest where
several dragons were in residence, including an adult female that chased and
caught a young one as we watched. When on a hunt, they move fast. We also
discovered little macaque monkeys in the forest—prey for the dragons—and guinea
fowl. The experience was worth
dealing with the oppressive humidity.
