Komodo Dragons

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.