Indonesia's 'Jurassic Park'

When US Person visited the dragons of Komodo Island all he had to do was brave a choppy sea crossing from Lombok in an overloaded native cargo canoe. Now the Indonesian government is proposing charging tourists $1,000 for the privilege of seeing the 1700 survivors of an ancient race of giant lizards. The government wants to use the revenue to protect the species into the future, a laudable goal. Last year it dropped a controversial decision to close Komodo Island and relocate its 2200 human inhabitants in order to protect the species, Varanus komodoensis.

Indonesia also wants to establish a mass tourism resort on nearby Rinca Island, home to about 1,000 dragons. There are about a hundred more dragons on nearby islets. However, conservationists are concerned that the development of Rinca will affect the lizards adversely. A recent photo of a giant lizard facing a construction vehicle on Rinca went viral on social media. [photo, left] It may have been the first time in creation that the lizard confronted a mechanical invader. An official at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry assured the press that, "No Komodo dragons will become victims." He added that teams would go to the island to insure safety protocols were being observed.

Dragons grow up to three meters in length, possess sharp teeth, and a venomous bite. There are recorded human fatalities from encounters with dragons, including tourists. According to data from Komodo National Park spanning a 38-year period between 1974 and 2012, there were 24 reported attacks on humans, five of them fatal. In 2017 a Singaporean was bitten on his leg when he got too close to a feeding dragon. The incident took place outside of a safe zone identified by park rangers; the tourist was staying with locals. After the incident, the first in five years, he was whisked to a military hospital by speedboat for treatment.