THE WILD SIDE

Here be dragons

By 6 Mins Read

“It’s really hot today, so wildlife won’t be up and about. With some luck though,” winks our purple-clad Indonesian guide Bahari, “you might just see a Dragon.”

We just landed at the port of Komodo, a rugged island in eastern Indonesia. We traveled a long way to get here. From Manila, a four-hour flight to Bali. From there, another hour-long flight to the seaside town of Labuan Bajo to board an expedition vessel. Then it’s an overnight trip to the Komodo Islands National Park.

I nod absently at Bahari. Like many Indonesians, he has no last name. He’s not kidding either. It’s sizzling. Only people would be crazy  enough to walk around in this heat. “Get ready, we leave in five minutes.”

Claws out. At nearly four inches long, Komodo claws are used to tear into hapless prey. Komodo Dragons have relatively weak bites, relying instead on a potent venom (once thought of as a brew of toxic bacteria) to bring down prey. (Gregg Yan)
Handmade. Komodo Island is one of Indonesia’s top tourism draws, drawing in over 200,000 visitors yearly, who buy everything from shirts to wooden Komodo Dragon carvings that sell for about PHP 500 each. You can haggle, of course. (Gregg Yan)
Liveaboard boats. Indonesian “Phinisi” vessels are your home-away-from- home in the Komodo Islands National Park. The islands have no facilities to lodge tourists – a good idea since it’s probably dangerous to have tourists walking around on islands with supersized, meat- eating ambush predators. The boats are well- provisioned and fully air- conditioned. (Gregg Yan)

SUPERSIZED

My partner Ngoc and I investigate a few stands selling wooden carvings, caps, and shirts depicting an animal who looks like a supersized Bayawak or Monitor Lizard.

Before I can haggle, the nearby Mosque erupts in chanting. A Muezzin calls out the Dhuhr or midday prayer, the second of five prayers devout Muslims observe daily.

All activity stops. It’s just like the midday Angelus of our grade school days.

“Let’s go,” says Bahari, now brandishing a six-foot wooden prong to keep the more inquisitive Dragons at bay. We weave through a village of stilt houses that resemble Badjao communities in Tawi-Tawi. I note that many homes have concrete skirt walls – insurance against the island’s biggest residents.

Tag team. Animal Scene’s Gregg Yan with purple-clad, prong-armed Komodo Island hero, Bahari. Like many Indonesians, he has no last name. (Gregg Yan)

THE DRAGONS OF INDONESIA

Living only on the Indonesian Islands of Komodo, Rinca, Padar, Gili Dasami, and Gili Montang, Komodo Dragons (Varanus komodoensis) are Planet Earth’s largest living Lizards. Adults grow nearly 10 feet and weigh around 150 pounds, as much as a typical Pinoy.

Ambush predators who can run up to 20 kilometers an hour when needed, they’re so large that they eat Mammals like the Water Buffalo, Deer, Goat, and Wild Pig – animals usually targeted by predators like Tigers. Komodo Dragons combine guile, inch-long teeth, and a venom that weakens and induces massive blood loss to bring down their prey.

Though more than capable hunters, Komodo Dragons will scavenge for anything remotely edible, a useful trait in the hardscrabble islands they inhabit.

Old one-eye. We saw quite a few Javan Rusa Deer in Komodo and Padar Islands. They’re unique in that they can subsist on just the moisture of the plants they browse on, even drinking straight-up seawater to survive. This crucial trait has made them successful inhabitants of islands where freshwater is scarce. Old-one-eye looks like he survived a
previous Dragon attack. (Gregg Yan)
Served on a tray. The more enterprising vendors even go straight to your cruise vessel. Please refrain from buying wildlife products like shells and coral fragments. (Gregg Yan)

Dive Komodo. Diving inside the Komodo Islands National Park is exhilarating and every bit as rewarding as your land adventures. Under these wooden pilings, we encountered a shoal of green Chromis, accompanied by various other types of Damselfish and larger, predatory Snappers. We also saw Sea Turtles, Dolphins, and Manta Rays – but that’s another tale. (Gregg Yan)

LURKING, READY TO BITE

“As you can see, it has not rained in months,” gestures Bahari as we leave the village for scrubby, low-lying hills. The landscape is a stark golden-yellow, baked dry by a brutal summer. A few large trees shelter stoic Goats and a few Javan Rusa (Rusa timorensis), a hardy Deer species capable of surviving on islands with almost no freshwater.

It’s so hot that I walk close to the dry bushes to try to get some shade. “Three days ago, a fisherman gathering tamarinds was bitten. A Dragon hid in the bushes and waited for him to come close,” chuckles Bahari.

I move away from the bushes.

“Around 1,500 dragons live here, the most anywhere. All told, there are about 4,000 or so Komodo Dragons left on Earth,” says Bahari.

Before this, I’ve only seen them in Singapore Zoo, which has a few Bayawak-sized juveniles. Definitely no Godzillas.

Suddenly, Bahari stops.

“Do not move.”

I don’t move.

Our purple-clad hero slowly points to what looks like two mottled rocks under a tree. “Well Mister Gregg, it seems that luck is on your side. There they are.”

Gigantic. Gnarled. Grimy. Komodo Dragons.

Jungle dragons. Pinoy explorer Gregg Yan with two adult Komodo Dragons in Indonesia. Komodo Dragons are the largest Lizards on Earth, reaching 10 feet from snout to tail. An extinct relative, Megalania, grew nearly 20 feet long and inhabited Australia up to 50,000 years ago. Komodo Dragons are thought to have evolved from Megalania, migrating to Indonesia from the Australian continent. (Gregg Yan)

WORLD’S LARGEST LIZARDS

“They are big!” exclaims Ngoc. Bahari chuckles. “Yes, this one is around seven feet. That one is very old. [He is] nearly 10 feet long. You are very lucky to see not just one, but two Dragons under this tree.” Ngoc and I quietly take snaps and shoot a short video segment, grateful for a chance to see the world’s largest Lizards in the wild.

That afternoon, we encounter a whopping five Dragons, all longer than I am tall.

Yep, Dragons live in fairytales and storybooks – but on a searingly hot island in Indonesia, you can actually go eye-to-eye with them.

Sunset surprise. I was walking along a beach after a dive, lost in my own thoughts, when I glanced to my left and had the scare of the day. After several days of thinking of dragons, everything looks like one! (Gregg Yan)
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Author

Gregg Yan has always loved animals — particularly those threatened with extinction. Gregg travels the world to photograph and write not just about endangered wildlife, but also about vanishing ecosystems and cultures. Catch up on his latest adventures through The Wild Side, his column for Animal Scene. Each trip, big or small, reveals the tiny mysteries of life on Earth.

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