Komodo National Park, Indonesia 2/23/2018

Arrival at Komodo National Park, Indonesia

The water was so smooth is was like being on a lake.  The ripples in the water are from our ship.  

We had to take a detour off the path as this komodo dragon was blocking the way.  

This man and his forked stick were our defense against a komodo dragon attack.  

This is a komodo dragon nest and they can use the nest more than once.

Komodo is just 150 square  miles.  This Komodo National Park covers 26 islands and is home to about 5,700 Komodo dragons.  It is one of the world’s most unique and prehistoric-feeling national parks and has a vast collection of wildlife.  The Komodo Dragon is the largest and heaviest lizards in the world and can grow up to ten feet long and weigh as much as 150 pounds.   We must be on a guided tour to visit this park and see the komodo dragon in its natural habitat.  Our guide showed us around Tamarind Woods, a forest of tamarind and palm trees. These relatives of the dinosaur do not exist anywhere else on earth.    Komodo are cannibals and will eat their young.  Young kimonos climb trees and live there eating bugs until they are between three and four feet long.  They are accomplished long distance swimmers and are called land crocodiles.  Attacks on humans are rare.  We were told to stay on paths and follow directions.  Menstrating women are not allowed to visit the park or those with open wounds.  A komodo dragon can smell blood from two miles away.