Discovery of dragons<\/p>\n
For more than five years I have been investigating with a
\nfriend of mine, a historian, on the origins of the discovery of
\nthe Komodo dragon, the ora.<\/p>\n
In most books, newspapers and scientific magazines, even the
\nlatest ones, we find the same story:<\/p>\n
\"In 1911, a Dutch pilot crashed at sea, near the island
\nof Komodo, in shallow waters. He survived, waded ashore and was
\nsaved by the villagers of Kampong Komodo -- a place where giant
\nlizards attacked him. Back in Surabaya, East Java, he told people
\nabout his encounter with the dragons, but nobody believed him,
\n(\"Dragons do not exist, my poor man!\"). He was even put into an
\nasylum for the insane, until Dr. Ouwens, of the Garden of
\nBuitenzorg (Bogor), heard rumors from pearl-fishermen in Flores
\nabout the existence of ora ora. He asked his friend, governor of
\nFlores Lt. Van Speyk, in 1912 to prepare an expedition to Komodo.
\nThat's how the giant lizard was discovered and trapped. A
\nspecimen was sent to Jakarta, where it got the name Varanus
\nKomodoensis Ouwens, and the whole world received the sensational
\nnews. The poor pilot was freed...\"<\/p>\n
To shorten the story, there was never a Dutch pilot in an
\nasylum.<\/p>\n
We wrote, phoned all over the world, asked authors where they
\ngot the story from, but without results. They all shamefully
\nadmitted they copied the story from each other. It's such a nice
\nstory which fits so perfectly with the mystique of the Komodo
\ndragon.<\/p>\n
I would really appreciate if any of the Post's readers could
\nlet me know if they have heard anything about the above story.<\/p>\n
HENK KEGEL<\/p>\n
\"Ararat\" Baudaric No 1128<\/p>\n
06390 Contes<\/p>\n
France<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/discovery-of-dragons-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }