Komodo

The two-page coverage on the island of Komodo carried in your Sunday, Dec. 1 edition provided a colorful glimpse into the background and operation of one of the world's most cherished natural heritage areas. Unfortunately, many writers who visit the park cannot resist the tendency to depict the park and its natural inhabitants in terms more fanciful than factual. The author of the story on the Komodo dragon fell prey not to the dragon, but to this same tendency to overdramatize facts surrounding the world's largest Monitor lizards. The Komodo dragon is not "the largest predator" or "the ultimate carnivore", as stated in the article.

One can only hope that the photograph of the proud tourists with their substantial catch of tuna, which was included in the other article, was not taken on board the ship that carried The Nature Conservancy group during their visit to Komodo. A check by telephone with the park's office in Labuan Bajo confirmed that the rules have not changed, and fishing inside the park is still strictly prohibited.

The special box detailing "ways to get to Komodo National Park" failed to mention Spice Island Cruises' 140-passenger ship, the Bali Sea Dancer, which has been operating twice-weekly trips to the park since November 1994. By our calculation, 30 percent of the people who visit the park do so as passengers on our ship, with hopefully more comfort and punctuality than the other means of transportation mentioned. In fact, getting to Komodo is easier than ever before, with your Jakarta-based readers now able to leave home on a Friday, see Komodo and Sumbawa and be back in Jakarta the following Monday.

Lest I sound too critical, let me congratulate The Jakarta Post for its decision to dedicate so much of Sunday's edition to the Komodo National Park. I hope that your paper and its writer will return soon to the park and carry your investigations further, looking at both the positive and negative impacts of tourism, the carrying capacity of the park, and things operators and visitors to the park can do to preserve its unrivaled natural beauty.

JOHN M. DANIELS

General Manager

Spice Island Cruises

Denpasar, Bali