The Day of the Dragon

When I woke up today it looked eerie and spooky outside. We had loud thunderstorms last night and lot of rain.  This was a perfect picture for a preview of today’s activity…..Komodo Dragons!!!

Sculpture as we got off the tender onto the dock. The only way we are allowed in the National Park is on an official tour.  There is no independent exploration.. the reason should be obvious….. These aren’t your ordinary pet iguana…they may look slow and play but the smell of blood or the need for food will make them move impressively fast.

But of course we were accompanied by Park rangers and their impressive forked sticks to guard us against the deadly dragons.

He explained that with the stick they could press it against the sides of the neck where the dragon is sensitive and prevent them from advancing.

Quite a number of don’ts while visiting..

We were on the boardwalk this time. The houses and offices and school are on stilts. Even the school teachers have a stick in the classroom in case one wander in.

Our first sighting… he was sunning himself and taking a mud bath, I think. Walking nearby was a nice four point deer and this guy didn’t even lift up his head.. guess he wasn’t hungry . 

Close up of the guy above.

There were three together here…you have to look hard. One is very prominent 

Aren’t they just interesting? 

Here at Rinca island, there is a new museum exhibit giving details concerning the dragon population and how they are being studied and managed. While we were outside learning about the numbers, our guide saw three dragons right beside the classroom area.. we all jumped up to watch a very mall dragon eating, a medium one walking around and a larger one smelling around where the little one had been. 

In the museum they have two skeletons,one male and one female of the dragons. They give you a good look at the structures of the dragon. Mr X died from trying to eat a deer hear and got it stuck in his throat.  The ranger tried to help him get it out but he died anyway. The female was found dead in the jungle.  The guide and the ranger continually reinforced that no harm was or is done to the dragons. They now have a tracking program and are keeping records on as many dragons as they can to watch the population and check for health issues. Indonesia realizes what an important economic value the dragons have along with the ecological value.  It was nice to we they have developed the museum and education program on Rinca Island.  This was an improvement from 2019 when we visited the national park on Komodo Island.   

Al and the statue 

Local fishermen at the docks

Most of the island is grassy savanah but with the rainy season …

Reminded me of the waters in Costa Rica.

The view from the doorway of the tender back to the ship

Although we didn’t see as many of the dragons as last time, it was a nice time to take a walk and see and learn more what we could. I cant believe I’ve been lucky enough to see the dragons twice in my life!