Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of
Indonesia. The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000
inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former
convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves
with the Bugis from Sulawesi. The population are primarily adherents of
Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu minorities.
Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands and forms part of
the Komodo National Park. Particularly notable here is the native Komodo
dragon. In addition, the island is a popular destination for diving.
Administratively, it is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province.
It is considered as one of the New7Wonders of Nature, together with the
Amazonia, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Table Mountain, and the
Puerto Princesa Subterranean River since November 11, 2011
History
The story of a
dragon existing in the region was widely circulated and attracted considerable
attention. But no one had visited the island to officially check the story
until finally in the early 1910s, reports surfaced from the combat force the
Dutch fleet, based in Flores about a mysterious creature, allegedly
a "dragon", which inhabited a small island in the Lesser Sunda
Islands (now known as Flores in East Nusa
Tenggara).
Dutch sailors
reported that the creature was likely to be measure up to seven meters in
length, with a large body and mouth which constantly spat fire. Hearing these
reports, Lieutenant Steyn van Hensbroek, an official of the Dutch Colonial
Administration in Flores, planned a trip to Komodo Island. Having armed himself
and accompanied by a team of soldiers, he landed on the island. After a few
days, Hensbroek managed to kill one of the strange species of animal.
Van Hensbroek
took the animal to headquarters and measurements were taken. The animal was
approximately 2.1 meters long. The shape of a komodo is very similar to a lizard.
More samples were then photographed (documented) by Peter A Ouwens, Director of
the Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardens, Bogor, Java. This is the first documentation of the Komodo
dragon.
Ouwens was
interested in obtaining additional samples. He recruited hunters who were able
to kill two dragons measuring 3.1 meters and 3.35 meters as well as capturing
two pups, each measuring less than one meter. Ouwens carried studies of the
samples and concluded that the komodo dragon was not a flamethrower but was a
type of monitor lizard monitor lizard. Research
results were published in 1912. Ouwens named the giant lizard Varanus
komodoensis, more commonly known as a Komodo Dragon.
Realizing the
significance of the dragons on Komodo Island as an endangered species, the
Dutch government issued a regulation on the protection of Komodo Island Komodo
in 1915.
The komodo dragon became something of a living
legend In the decades since the Komodo was discovered, various scientific
expeditions from a range of countries have carried out field research about the
dragons on Komodo Island.
Fauna
The island is
famous not only for its heritage of convicts but also for the unique fauna
which roam it. The Komodo dragon, the world's
largest living lizard, takes its name from the island. A type of monitor lizard, it inhabits
Komodo and some of the smaller surrounding islands, as well as part of western
Flores.
Pink Beach
Komodo contains
a beach with pink sand, one of only seven in the world.
The sand appears pink because it is a mixture of white sand and red sand, formed
from pieces of Foraminifera.
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