The Komodo Dragon

The Komodo Dragon

Komodo Dragon (varanus komodoensis) in wild is found in five islands in the Lesser Sunda group of Islands in the Flores region of Indonesia. Apart from these five; Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Flores, and Gili Motang, there are 26 other tiny islands in the National Park which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors are allowed on the first three islands of the five mentioned herein.

Komodo Dragon, also called Komodo Monitor and Land Crocodile is a beast lizard up to a size of 3.0 m in length and 90 kg in weight. Females of the species measure up to 2.60 m and weigh up to 70 kg.

The creature kills its larger prey like a buffalo or a grown up boar by inflicting a bite. The dragon’s saliva contains bacteria that cause rapid decay of live flesh of the victim of its bite. The Komodo dragon is also known to stalk and capture smaller animals like deer (Timor deer also roams in the wild on the same islands as the dragon), monkeys, and young wild boar. Rotten flesh attracts the dragon which can spot carrion up to 6 km away. The Dragon can 
sense blood from a distance of 2 km. Due to this extra protection is provided to tourists with cuts and wounds and also menstruating women tourists. The guides called rangers warn the visitors on this health condition.  Ironically, the dragon’s sense of hearing as well as vision is limited but it can sense a carcass or blood with the help of its tongue like other reptiles. It can run after its prey with a speed of up to 20 kmph. Tourists are advised to run in zig zag if pursued in sprint by a dragon.

However dangerous the creature may appear but it is generally docile. It becomes ferocious only when provoked or when hungry and looking for food. It has been reported that the dragon has at times attacked humans. Rangers will take the tourists always along a marked path and straying much far away is not allowed for the reasons of safety. I found this restriction annoying. It is not like that a tourist will roam freely looking for the animal. In the jungle the beast can be seen anywhere but chances of it being spotted are high around water holes and their own nests. If the female is sitting on eggs the male could well be roaming around within  a periphery of 200 – 500 metres.

Wild Buffalo

We were 8 tourists in a group and we spotted two huge dragons in thick vegetation besides one smaller one (4 yr or so old) by a water hole. Incidentally, we couldn’t find any either in the nest or by it. The visit was taken in the last week of October 2017. When groups start arriving early in the morning there are many of them around the Rangers’ kitchen in Rinca. By the mid-day they disperse. The rangers told us that feeding the dragons was prohibited and they came on the smell of food. They return after lazing around in the sun.

This magnificent pre historic creature is endangered though not facing immediate extinction. It is estimated that up to 5000 dragons populate the Komodo National Park which was set up in 1980. Majority of their population is on the two major islands of Komodo and Rinca.

Endangered

Timor Deer

The present status of ‘endangered’ is due to some of the factors like:

Loss of habitat to humans and illegal hunting: Human population has been constantly on the increase in the areas habitated by the komodos. Then, the dragons are under the threat of hunting for their skin and claws.

Cannibalistic nature of the dragon: The dragons are cannibal. The larger ones devour the younger ones. A female lays only up to 20 eggs, not all of which produce hatchlings.

Skewed male to female ratio: The population is skewed in favour of males in the ration of 3:1. In the mating season from the month of May to August fierce bloody fights among suitor males are a common sight.

Susceptibility to predators: Though the nest is well guarded but both the parents abandon it about a week or ten days prior to the hatchlings start coming out of the eggs. That gives the predators like fox, jackal, and other dragons enough opportunity to feast upon the eggs/hatchlings. Even the parents are known to devour their own progeny.

How to Reach

Komodo NP can be reached by sea fro the nearest port at Labuan Bajo. Tour operators abound on the island of Labuan Bajo. Select a big tour operator with a fleet of speed boats. The sea between Labuan Bajo and the island of Komodo can turn rough anytime. Instances of boats capsizing have been reported. The harbor authorities are rather very strict and advise cancellation of trips at the slightest of weather disturbance. This strictness is visible in the immediate aftermath of an accident at the sea. Our full day and fully paid up one day tour to Komodo, Padar and Rinca was curtailed to a half day Rinca only trip by the Harbour Master just before we started boarding the boats. It was in the last week of October 2017. They said a boat had capsized only a few days back. Small freelancer tour operators with rickety wooden boats are better avoided. Quality checks and safety standards are not known to be anywhere near world class.

By air Lauban Bajo is an hour and half away from Denpasar air port (Bali). A few airlines fly ATR 72-600 twin engine aircraft to and from LBJ. I flew Garuda airlines - the national carrier of Indonesia which charges a little more than the fare charged by Lion and Wings, the other two carriers I knew about. The aircraft are the same but Garuda being the largest feels safe to fly. Keep 3 days / 2 nights spare for the trip if you plan to fly. By sea it needs three nights by ferry to reach the komodos.

A four year old dragon

Nature’s way

As the dragon is a cannibal species, Nature has its way of protecting the hatchlings up to a point where they can take care of their own survival. The male and female abandon the nest about a week or ten days before the hatchlings are about to come out of the hatched eggs. This leaves the nest with the danger of being foraged by predators but this abandonment provides a better chance of survival of the young ones than the presence of cannibal parents around. Their nest is invariable under big trees. The hatchlings barely 6 inches tender creatures by instinct climb up the tree where they stay for the next two to three years feeding on small insects, and as they grow up, on larger prey like lizards and frogs.

Huge beast with saliva dripping from its mouth

While small dragons climb up the tree, adult / big dragons cannot. When the young ones come down after three or four years on the tree, they are accepted in the group and start feeding on the carcasses. At this point their saliva turns poisonous. A komodo attains adulthood by the 10^th year of life and its lifespan usually is 30 years.

Parthenogenesis:

(The Virgin birth)

Parthenogenesis has been recorded in some amphibian and reptile species. The Smithsonian Zoo has reported occurrence of parthenogenesis in komodo dragons in captivity. Females have laid eggs and hatched them to produce hatchlings without any fertilization. The hatchlings thus produced invariably turned out to be male of the species. This probability is high in an all female population with scarcity of males.

Labuan Bajo

22 oct 2017

Blue waters of the Pacific Ocean rich in marine life

Labuan Bajo harbour sunset

Sunset Labuan Bajo 

Shooting the Komodo in the wild is a dream of every photography enthusiast