The Last Dragons on Earth
Cameron Stuart | November 2020
As the sun rises over Flores, an island in the southeastern region of the Indonesian archipelago, Claudio Ciofi rolls over in bed to check his watch: 6:02 a.m. He stretches and unzips his tent, holding his hand up to his face to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight shining over vast rolling green hills that eventually melt into the deep blue water of the ocean many meters below. The smell of the fruit that he’s about to eat for breakfast wafts through the air as he steps outside and heads towards a communal water tank for a makeshift shower.
Once a year, Claudio and other scientists from around the world come to Indonesia for about a month as part of the Komodo Survival Program, an NGO dedicated to the conservation and research of Komodo dragons.
Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizard species in the world, weighing 154 pounds on average, with the largest recorded dragon measuring at 10.3 feet long. Komodos are capable of detaching their lower jaw in order to open their mouths extra wide. That, combined with their ability to quickly expand the size of their stomachs, allows them to consume up to 80% of their body weight in a single meal.
After breakfast, Claudio and his team pack their lunches, as well as a lot of water, and set out to begin their day of fieldwork, starting off by setting traps in order to catch and study the dragons. When a Komodo dragon is caught, the team takes its measurements, collects samples of blood, and inserts a microchip into it in order to track it, if it doesn’t have a microchip already.
Field work in Indonesia can be exhausting due to the severe climate during the dry season, which lasts from April until October. Because there are no cars, Claudio and the rest of his team have to walk across hills that can sometimes reach up to 800 meters in height, under a constantly scorching sun for 8-9 hours every day. Without wearing a hat and drinking several liters of water, that weather would be unbearable, especially for researchers who haven’t visited the islands previously.
There are only five islands that are home to Komodo dragons: Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami, and Flores. All of these islands are a part of Lesser Sunda, a group of islands in the southeastern region of Indonesia.
Since the ocean is just a short 200 meter walk from the last trap he set, Claudio decides to take a break and do some snorkeling while he waits for a Komodo to enter his trap. He swims around the large coral reefs, appreciating all of the fish and marine life around him. Swimming and snorkeling are the main ways to enjoy and appreciate the biodiversity of Indonesia, something that is missing on land.
Biodiversity loss has become a major issue around the world, especially on small islands such as those in Indonesia where it is much more prevalent. In Indonesia, biodiversity levels on land are low compared to islands around the world with similar climates. In the ocean, on the other hand, coral reefs are home to a variety of marine life, though biodiversity loss is still a concern.
As apex predators, Komodo dragons are at the top of the food chain on their islands. As they do not have any predators, their main limiting factor that prevents their populations from rapidly increasing is the population of deer, their primary prey. Apex predators are important because they regulate the populations of all of the species below them on the food chain.
After his quick swimming break, Claudio dries off and heads back up to the last trap that he set a few hours ago. Luckily, a Komodo dragon is thrashing around inside, and a large one at that. Claudio examines the dragon, as its yellow forked tongue continues to flick out as its jaws snap and its tail swings angrily back and forth. After taking measurements and inserting a microchip into it for tracking purposes, the Komodo is found to be 9 and a half feet long, and weighing in at 310 pounds, much larger than normal.
Though this Komodo dragon is angry and snapping at anyone within reach, Komodos are normally harmless to humans and will tend to keep their distance if encountered in the wild. The only times that Claudio has seen Komodos near people is when they smell food being cooked in the kitchen, in which case they might be found lingering nearby.
In recent years, one of the biggest changes to Komodo dragon habitats is the increase in tourism in the area, most notably due to Komodo National Park, created in 1980. As the name suggests, Komodo dragons are a primary tourist attraction in the park, and it has been a way of improving the local economy. With that, however, Komodo habitats have had to be altered to provide tourists with ways of viewing the dragons. Some of these changes include roads and footpaths, as well as viewing stations. At those viewing stations, the animals are provided with food and water in order to encourage more frequent appearances. In addition to those physical changes, tourism has an impact through indirect causes, such as pollution. Tourism is a major reason why Komodo dragons are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or the IUCN, as “vulnerable.”
After 12 hours of tough work, the sun dips below the horizon, casting a hazy glow over the Indonesian savanna as the sky fades from vibrant orange and pink hues into a deep dark blue. By then, Claudio had made his way back to the base camp for dinner, a simple meal of fish and rice. Researchers try to get back to their base camps by the time the sun sets in order to avoid any cobras or vipers that come out at night, some of the only predators that humans have to watch out for on the islands. Claudio’s eyes shut almost before his head lands on his pillow, exhausted from a long, rewarding day of working but looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow.
Sources
Ciofi, Claudio. Personal interview. 21 Nov. 2020. “Komodo Dragon.”Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian,https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Komodo Survival Program. https://komododragon.org. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020. Academic Journal Articles:
Chapin, F. Stuart, et al. “Ecosystem Consequences of Changing Biodiversity.” BioScience, vol. 48, no. 1, 1998, pp. 45–52. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1313227. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.
Ciofi, Claudio. “THE KOMODO DRAGON.” Scientific American, vol. 280, no. 3, 1999, pp. 84–91.JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26058099. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Ciofi, Claudio et. al. “Genetic divergence and units for conservation in the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis.” The Royal Society, Royal Society, 22 Nov. 1999, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.1999.0918. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Walpole, Matthew. “Feeding dragons in Komodo National Park: a tourism tool with conservation complications.” Animal Conservation, The Zoological Society of London, 2001. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1017/S13679430010 0107X. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Cameron Stuart | November 2020
As the sun rises over Flores, an island in the southeastern region of the Indonesian archipelago, Claudio Ciofi rolls over in bed to check his watch: 6:02 a.m. He stretches and unzips his tent, holding his hand up to his face to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight shining over vast rolling green hills that eventually melt into the deep blue water of the ocean many meters below. The smell of the fruit that he’s about to eat for breakfast wafts through the air as he steps outside and heads towards a communal water tank for a makeshift shower.
Once a year, Claudio and other scientists from around the world come to Indonesia for about a month as part of the Komodo Survival Program, an NGO dedicated to the conservation and research of Komodo dragons.
Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizard species in the world, weighing 154 pounds on average, with the largest recorded dragon measuring at 10.3 feet long. Komodos are capable of detaching their lower jaw in order to open their mouths extra wide. That, combined with their ability to quickly expand the size of their stomachs, allows them to consume up to 80% of their body weight in a single meal.
After breakfast, Claudio and his team pack their lunches, as well as a lot of water, and set out to begin their day of fieldwork, starting off by setting traps in order to catch and study the dragons. When a Komodo dragon is caught, the team takes its measurements, collects samples of blood, and inserts a microchip into it in order to track it, if it doesn’t have a microchip already.
Field work in Indonesia can be exhausting due to the severe climate during the dry season, which lasts from April until October. Because there are no cars, Claudio and the rest of his team have to walk across hills that can sometimes reach up to 800 meters in height, under a constantly scorching sun for 8-9 hours every day. Without wearing a hat and drinking several liters of water, that weather would be unbearable, especially for researchers who haven’t visited the islands previously.
There are only five islands that are home to Komodo dragons: Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami, and Flores. All of these islands are a part of Lesser Sunda, a group of islands in the southeastern region of Indonesia.
Since the ocean is just a short 200 meter walk from the last trap he set, Claudio decides to take a break and do some snorkeling while he waits for a Komodo to enter his trap. He swims around the large coral reefs, appreciating all of the fish and marine life around him. Swimming and snorkeling are the main ways to enjoy and appreciate the biodiversity of Indonesia, something that is missing on land.
Biodiversity loss has become a major issue around the world, especially on small islands such as those in Indonesia where it is much more prevalent. In Indonesia, biodiversity levels on land are low compared to islands around the world with similar climates. In the ocean, on the other hand, coral reefs are home to a variety of marine life, though biodiversity loss is still a concern.
As apex predators, Komodo dragons are at the top of the food chain on their islands. As they do not have any predators, their main limiting factor that prevents their populations from rapidly increasing is the population of deer, their primary prey. Apex predators are important because they regulate the populations of all of the species below them on the food chain.
After his quick swimming break, Claudio dries off and heads back up to the last trap that he set a few hours ago. Luckily, a Komodo dragon is thrashing around inside, and a large one at that. Claudio examines the dragon, as its yellow forked tongue continues to flick out as its jaws snap and its tail swings angrily back and forth. After taking measurements and inserting a microchip into it for tracking purposes, the Komodo is found to be 9 and a half feet long, and weighing in at 310 pounds, much larger than normal.
Though this Komodo dragon is angry and snapping at anyone within reach, Komodos are normally harmless to humans and will tend to keep their distance if encountered in the wild. The only times that Claudio has seen Komodos near people is when they smell food being cooked in the kitchen, in which case they might be found lingering nearby.
In recent years, one of the biggest changes to Komodo dragon habitats is the increase in tourism in the area, most notably due to Komodo National Park, created in 1980. As the name suggests, Komodo dragons are a primary tourist attraction in the park, and it has been a way of improving the local economy. With that, however, Komodo habitats have had to be altered to provide tourists with ways of viewing the dragons. Some of these changes include roads and footpaths, as well as viewing stations. At those viewing stations, the animals are provided with food and water in order to encourage more frequent appearances. In addition to those physical changes, tourism has an impact through indirect causes, such as pollution. Tourism is a major reason why Komodo dragons are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or the IUCN, as “vulnerable.”
After 12 hours of tough work, the sun dips below the horizon, casting a hazy glow over the Indonesian savanna as the sky fades from vibrant orange and pink hues into a deep dark blue. By then, Claudio had made his way back to the base camp for dinner, a simple meal of fish and rice. Researchers try to get back to their base camps by the time the sun sets in order to avoid any cobras or vipers that come out at night, some of the only predators that humans have to watch out for on the islands. Claudio’s eyes shut almost before his head lands on his pillow, exhausted from a long, rewarding day of working but looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow.
Sources
Ciofi, Claudio. Personal interview. 21 Nov. 2020. “Komodo Dragon.”Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian,https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/komodo-dragon. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Komodo Survival Program. https://komododragon.org. Accessed 15 Nov. 2020. Academic Journal Articles:
Chapin, F. Stuart, et al. “Ecosystem Consequences of Changing Biodiversity.” BioScience, vol. 48, no. 1, 1998, pp. 45–52. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1313227. Accessed 21 Nov. 2020.
Ciofi, Claudio. “THE KOMODO DRAGON.” Scientific American, vol. 280, no. 3, 1999, pp. 84–91.JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26058099. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Ciofi, Claudio et. al. “Genetic divergence and units for conservation in the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis.” The Royal Society, Royal Society, 22 Nov. 1999, https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.1999.0918. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.
Walpole, Matthew. “Feeding dragons in Komodo National Park: a tourism tool with conservation complications.” Animal Conservation, The Zoological Society of London, 2001. https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1017/S13679430010 0107X. Accessed 9 Nov. 2020.