Komodo Dragons

The Komodo dragon can be spotted fairly easily on Komodo and Rinca Islands. I prefer Rinca Island but they are both great for day trips. There are a few dive shops in Labuanbajo that include stopovers on the islands during the surface interval and there are plenty of local boats available for hire as well. One inexpensive way to get there is to take the Perama tour from Lombok. They stop in a few bays on the way over and visitors are welcome to do a little snorkeling. The marine life in this area is equally as interesting as the dragons and considered to be world class for scuba diving. www.komododiver.com Another good scuba dive shop is  Reefseekers tel +62 385-4-1443 Both shops are on the same road in Labuanbajo, Flores. The dragons themselves do not seem too threatening and like to lie around in the sun until it gets hot when they take cover in the shade. There is an old story of an elderly man that went missing and was most likely was taken by a dragon a number of years ago. This is entirely possible. Now the park rangers use a forked stick when they accompany hikers and tend to steer the dragons away if they come in your direction. They seem mostly concerned about the tail and pin it with the forked end if visitors approach too closely. Update: There was a report from Komodo in june 2007 of a local lad getting attacked by a komodo while he was relieving himself in the bushes. The villagers drove the dragon away by throwing stones at it, but the bite proved fatal in the end because of the lack of medical facilities. Komodo www.dutchpickle.com

 

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