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August 2001
Komodo and its Dragons
Odv2004-09-15 12:29:19
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Rating: 2.00 out of 5.00. 2 members have rated this article
THE TIME! Several years ago an elderly man wandered off alone, never to be seen again. It is said that only his camera and sunglasses were found back on the beach! In other words while lying on the beach, you could become lunch!
The purpose of our trip was to see the world's largest lizards, a monitor lizard called the Varanus Komodoensis. The locals call them Ora, but they are better known around the world as Komodo Dragons. These lizards can become up to 3 meters long and weigh up to 100kg. They might inspire fear but they are awesome and very impressive. Some dragons just walk through the PHPA camp at Loh Liang. Attracted by the smell of food from the kitchen. So you have a good chance to see some around the restaurant.
They don't seem to be in any hurry, and it looks like you could outrun them easily. This can be quite misleading as they can run at 18km/h.
The best advice is not to get too close. One time I took a picture of a Dragon from about 5 meters only to discover as I lowered the camera that there was another one at just 1.5 meters to the left of me!!!
If you have to run away from a dragon, the guides tell us, zigzag, dragons might be able to run fast but turning is not as easy for them as it is for us. Fortunately we didn't have the opportunity to verify this.
Their long tail can be used to whip an enemy or prey, and is said to be quite a blow.
But what's really dangerous is the dragon's mouth.
It is filled with bacteria, which infect a prey once bitten. They track down an injured prey, by following the scent of blood, they wait until it can no longer move or dies from the infections (which can take 2 or 3 days).
Douglas Adams wrote about a Frenchman who was bitten by a Komodo dragon, a long time ago, and who in spite of all the medical care he got still died from the infections several years later back in France.
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See photographs from:
Indonesia Gallery
