The Komodo dragons do strike out at people occasionally and there are a few attacks each year on locals who live on the islands.

“But when they are aggressive that’s not enough. “We use the stick to push them away”, one tells me. They seem docile and slow… but with sharp teeth and large claws, I keep my distance.Ī group of rangers with forked wooden sticks are there to protect us. Quarantined and indomitable, evolution largely overlooked these dragons.Īnd be warned… Komodo dragons are dangerous!Īs I walk into the main camps of the two islands I visit – Rinca Island and Komodo Island – I can see some dragons laying on the ground. It had no predators and was not discovered by the Western world until 1910.

The animal’s isolation from the rest of the planet is what has ensured its survival for so long. The Komodo dragon exists only in this one part of the world – on four small islands in the Komodo National Park, in the southern part of Indonesia. Regardless, stepping off the boat, walking down the small wooden pier and into the forest feels like a trip back in time – to a land where the lost animals of history rule supreme. Neither is necessarily wrong, neither is necessarily right. Others will tell you, with as much conviction, that the island was the basis for Jurassic Park. Some people will tell you, sincerely, that the movie King Kong was inspired by an expedition to Komodo Island.

Comodo dragon