A courageous journey into the Komodo dragon's den<\/p>\n
By Steve Rhodes<\/p>\n
KOMODO ISLAND, East Nusa Tenggara (JP): I was sitting in the
\ndining room of Chez Felix, a pleasant little hotel in the
\npleasant little town of Labuhanbajo, on the island of Flores,
\nEast Nusa Tenggara, waiting for Capt. Abdul Achamad to pick me up
\nand transport me to Komodo and Rincha islands. These are the only
\ntwo islands in the world which are the home of Varanus
\nkomodoensis, otherwise known as the Komodo dragon.<\/p>\n
Capt. Achamad was the proud owner of the trim, 17-meter
\nfishing boat Rahmad Jaya and he'd agreed to do the trip for the
\nprincely sum of Rp 350,000 (about $70.00). While I waited I
\nadmired the stunning view of the harbor and read David
\nAttenborough's book Zoo Quest for a Dragon, an account of his
\nadventures in 1956 filming and catching dragons for the London
\nZoo.<\/p>\n
When Attenborough was on Komodo, he and his cameraman spent
\nseveral days luring dragons into camera range by hanging a dead
\ngoat from a tree and squatting in a hide inhaling the foul fumes
\nfrom the decomposing animal until they managed to get the shots
\nthey wanted.<\/p>\n
Up until 1995 this was also the method employed by the park
\nrangers to entice the creatures within range of the tourists'
\ncamcorders. The dragons would stand up on their back legs and
\ntear the goat to shreds. While this was a thrilling spectacle and
\nprovided reams of videotape to enthrall friends and relatives
\nback home, it made the dragons fat and sluggish and dependent on
\nhumans for handouts. So the government decreed that the practice
\nshould cease. Now for the last four years they have gone back to
\nfending for themselves and dragon spotting is all the more
\nexciting and better for it.<\/p>\n
Despite the ban on feeding, Achamad suggested that we should
\n"take a present for the dragons". He'd purchased a chicken at the
\nmarket which was already ensconced below decks.<\/p>\n
After a pleasant three-hour cruise and a leisurely lunch,
\n(Achamad turned out to be quite a fine cook as well as a capable
\ncaptain), we cruised to a halt at the end of the jetty on Rinca
\nisland. The atmosphere was deceptively peaceful.<\/p>\n
"Dragon," said Achamad in hushed tones, pointing theatrically
\ntoward a sign bearing the words "Welcome to Komodo National
\nPark".<\/p>\n
Sure enough a monstrous reptile was glaring at us from beneath
\nthe sign. Suddenly he sprang onto the jetty and swaggered
\narrogantly toward the boat at quite a brisk and business like
\npace. At close to three meters in length and weighing in at
\naround 80 kilograms, it was a rather daunting sight and, despite
\nall the reading up I'd done on the dragons, my first encounter
\nturned out to be nothing like I'd expected.<\/p>\n
Clearly it was time for us to pay our admission fee to the
\npark in the form of the "present" clucking in its cage below
\ndecks. The unfortunate fowl had its legs hastily bound and was
\nslung over a long bamboo pole which was thrust from the bow of
\nthe boat. The dragon lunged, the chicken squawked and slipped off
\nthe pole, making a futile attempt to escape by throwing itself
\ninto the sea. But to no avail. Dragons can swim like crocodiles.
\nWithin seconds he'd retrieved the sodden bundle of feathers and
\nit was all over bar the shouts of merriment from the crew.<\/p>\n
A quick gulp and he sauntered back up the jetty and collapsed
\nin the shade of a tree, leaving the way clear for us to enter. We
\nwere told later by one of the rangers that the same lizard, who'd
\nbeen named Horatio, had put the fear of god into a boat load of
\nfishermen only a few weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
Apparently they were new to the area and tied their boat up to
\nthe jetty while they laid out their catch on the deck to dry in
\nthe sun. Horatio had timed his attack perfectly, waiting until
\nthe last fish was laid out before charging the boat and making a
\nflying leap onto the deck. The terrified fishermen fled to the
\nsmall cabin where they had no option but to barricade themselves
\nin and watch helplessly as Horatio polished off their haul and
\nretired to the shade of his favorite tree to sleep off the
\neffects off his orgy of self-indulgence.<\/p>\n
As a result of his antics he's become something of a local
\nlegend, regarded with a certain amount of affection by some,
\nhated by others, but certainly held in great respect by one and
\nall.<\/p>\n
Another resident of the island who commands respect is
\n24-year-old Merry Mba'u, the first woman to make it as a park
\nranger in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
She's been on the job now for three months after successfully
\ncompleting a six-month course in wildlife management at a
\nuniversity in Jakarta. Merry loves her work, especially the
\nhours, 10 days work followed by 10 days off at her home in
\nLabuanbajo.<\/p>\n
Her male counterparts have to work 20 days in order to get 10
\ndays off.<\/p>\n
However all the rangers are totally committed to their work
\nand have a deep concern for the welfare of the dragons and the
\narea as a whole, including the marine national park which
\nsurrounds the islands.<\/p>\n
Getting Merry to pose for a photo with one of her charges, a
\ngiant of a dragon called Goliath, was a load of laughs. Goliath
\nwas enjoying a quiet nap in the shade and was most reluctant to
\ncome out into the sunlight for the frivolous purpose of taking
\nphotos. He was clearly getting a trifle testy as the other
\nrangers tried to entice him out with gentle prods with their
\nforked sticks, their only method of dragon control. Finally his
\npatience snapped and he charged out of the shadows, his long
\nyellow tongue flickering ominously. Everyone backed off very
\nsmartly, including myself, nearly tripping over another dragon
\nwho'd come up to see what all the fuss was about.<\/p>\n
But Merry stood her ground and we got a couple of quite good
\nshots. "Be careful," one of the rangers warned me with a chuckle,
\n"he likes to bite the tourist."<\/p>\n
Caution<\/p>\n
All joking aside, though, one does need to be careful. After
\nall, any animal that can bring down a water buffalo and who
\nregularly dines on wild pigs needs to be treated with a certain
\namount of caution.<\/p>\n
So far about eight people have unwittingly become meals for
\nthe dragons. The first foreign visitor to have the dubious honor
\nof being eaten was an elderly Swiss photographer and bird
\nwatcher, Baron Rudolf Von Reding Biberegg, who wandered off in
\npursuit of a rare bird and became separated from his group.
\nBy the time his friends realized he was missing, it was too late.
\nAll that was left to ship back to Switzerland were his reading
\nglasses and camera. Every so often a child disappears from the
\nMuslim fishing village on the eastern side of the island
\nbut this is treated philosophically as just another of life's
\nhazards on Komodo island.<\/p>\n
But basically, visiting the dragons is just a matter of using
\ncommon sense. As long as you don't antagonize them, they leave
\nyou alone and no one is allowed to wander about the island
\nunescorted. Your chances of being killed by a car on the streets
\nof Jakarta are far higher than being taken by a dragon on Komodo
\nisland. Besides, there are two other creatures far more dangerous
\nthan the dragons. The first is the dreaded golden orb spider, as
\nbig as your hand, whose bite can kill you in an hour if you
\nblunder into their web unless, as our guide put it, "you have a
\nstrong heart."<\/p>\n
Then there are the souvenir sellers at the park entrance who
\nset upon you with a ferocity unmatched by any attacking dragon,
\nbrandishing wooden replicas of the giant lizards in a huge
\nvariety of shapes, sizes and poses.<\/p>\n
This is your big chance to take home a Komodo dragon. After
\ndays of trying, David Attenborough finally managed to catch one
\nin a cage trap he and his team constructed out of trees and vines
\nbut, at the last minute, the Indonesian authorities forbade its
\nexport.<\/p>\n
Attenborough was philosophical about the whole thing, saying:
\n"In one way I was not sorry to leave the dragon behind. He would,
\nI am sure, have been happy and healthy in the large heated
\nenclosures of London Zoo's Reptile House, but he could never have
\nappeared to anyone else as he did to us that day on Komodo,
\nmajestic and magnificent in his own forest."<\/p>\n
It's certainly the only way to see them and well worth the
\nrigors and perils of a trip to Komodo Island National Park.<\/p>",
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