Komodo Island
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
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.
Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin.
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
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.
Indonesia’s Komodo National Park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones, for a total area of 1,817 square kilometers (603 square kilometers of it land). The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. Later, it was also dedicated to protecting other species, including marine animals. The islands of the national park are of volcanic origin.
History
The earliest stories of a dragon existing in the region circulated widely and attracted considerable attention. But no one visited the island to check the story until official interest was sparked in the early 1910s by stories from Dutch sailors based in Flores about a mysterious creature. The creature was allegedly a "dragon" which inhabited a small island in the Lesser Sunda Islands (the main island of which is Flores in East Nusa Tenggara).
The Dutch sailors reported that the creature measured up to seven meters in length with a large body and mouth which constantly spat fire. Hearing the reports, Lieutenant Steyn van Hensbroek, an official of the Dutch Colonial Administration in Flores, planned a trip to Komodo Island. He 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 animals.
Van Hensbroek took the animal to headquarters where measurements were taken. It was approximately 2.1 meters long, with a shape very similar to that of a lizard. More samples were then photographed by Peter A. Ouwens, the Director of the Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardens in Bogor, Java. The records that Ouwens made are the first reliable documentation of details about what is now called the Komodo dragon or Komodo monitor.
Ouwens was keen to obtain additional samples. He recruited hunters who killed two dragons measuring 3.1 meters and 3.35 meters as well as capturing two pups, each measuring less than one meter. Ouwens carried out studies on 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 Komodos on Komodo Island 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 on the dragons on Komodo Island.
The Dutch sailors reported that the creature measured up to seven meters in length with a large body and mouth which constantly spat fire. Hearing the reports, Lieutenant Steyn van Hensbroek, an official of the Dutch Colonial Administration in Flores, planned a trip to Komodo Island. He 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 animals.
Van Hensbroek took the animal to headquarters where measurements were taken. It was approximately 2.1 meters long, with a shape very similar to that of a lizard. More samples were then photographed by Peter A. Ouwens, the Director of the Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardens in Bogor, Java. The records that Ouwens made are the first reliable documentation of details about what is now called the Komodo dragon or Komodo monitor.
Ouwens was keen to obtain additional samples. He recruited hunters who killed two dragons measuring 3.1 meters and 3.35 meters as well as capturing two pups, each measuring less than one meter. Ouwens carried out studies on 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 Komodos on Komodo Island 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 on the dragons on Komodo Island.
Exotic "Pink Beach" At Komodo Dragon Island
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 (amoeba microscopic animals).
When the waves sweeping the sand and pull it, then sand the color turned into dark pink.
When the waves sweeping the sand and pull it, then sand the color turned into dark pink.
Komodo National Park
Komodo National Park is located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. Established in 1980, initially the main purpose of the Park was to conserve the unique Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) and its habitat. However, over the years, the goals for the Park have expanded to protecting its entire biodiversity, both terrestrial and marine. In 1986, the Park was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, both indications of the Park's biological importance.
Komodo National Park includes three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands creating a total surface area (marine and land) of 1817km (proposed extensions would bring the total surface area up to 2,321km2). As well as being home to the Komodo dragon, the Park provides refuge for many other notable terrestrial species such as the orange-footed scrub fowl, an endemic rat, and the Timor deer. Moreover, the Park includes one of the richest marine environments including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, seamounts, and semi-enclosed bays. These habitats harbor more than 1,000 species of fish, some 260 species of reef-building coral, and 70 species of sponges. Dugong, sharks, manta rays, at least 14 species of whales, dolphins, and sea turtles also make Komodo National Park their home.
Threats to terrestrial biodiversity include the increasing pressure on forest cover and water resources as the local human population has increased 800% over the past 60 years. In addition, the Timor deer population, the preferred prey source for the endangered Komodo dragon, is still being poached. Destructive fishing practices such as dynamite-, cyanide, and compressor fishing severely threaten the Park's marine resources by destroying both the habitat (coral reefs) and the resource itself (fish and invertebrate stocks). The present situation in the Park is characterized by reduced but continuing destructive fishing practices primarily by immigrant fishers, and high pressure on demersal stocks like lobsters, shellfish, groupers and napoleon wrasse. Pollution inputs, ranging from raw sewage to chemicals, are increasing and may pose a major threat in the future.
Komodo National Park includes three major islands: Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller islands creating a total surface area (marine and land) of 1817km (proposed extensions would bring the total surface area up to 2,321km2). As well as being home to the Komodo dragon, the Park provides refuge for many other notable terrestrial species such as the orange-footed scrub fowl, an endemic rat, and the Timor deer. Moreover, the Park includes one of the richest marine environments including coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, seamounts, and semi-enclosed bays. These habitats harbor more than 1,000 species of fish, some 260 species of reef-building coral, and 70 species of sponges. Dugong, sharks, manta rays, at least 14 species of whales, dolphins, and sea turtles also make Komodo National Park their home.
Threats to terrestrial biodiversity include the increasing pressure on forest cover and water resources as the local human population has increased 800% over the past 60 years. In addition, the Timor deer population, the preferred prey source for the endangered Komodo dragon, is still being poached. Destructive fishing practices such as dynamite-, cyanide, and compressor fishing severely threaten the Park's marine resources by destroying both the habitat (coral reefs) and the resource itself (fish and invertebrate stocks). The present situation in the Park is characterized by reduced but continuing destructive fishing practices primarily by immigrant fishers, and high pressure on demersal stocks like lobsters, shellfish, groupers and napoleon wrasse. Pollution inputs, ranging from raw sewage to chemicals, are increasing and may pose a major threat in the future.
Komodo National Park Office
Jl. Kasimo, Labuan Bajo, Manggarai Barat
Nusa Tenggara Timur 86554
INDONESIA
Tel 62 (0) 385 41005
Fax 62 (0) 385 41006
PT. PUTRI NAGA KOMODO
Komodo Office
Gg. Mesjid, Kampung Cempa, Labuan Bajo
Manggarai Barat, NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR 86554
INDONESIA
Tel 62 (0) 385 41448
Tel 62 (0) 385 41225
Enquiries, please contact [email protected]
Reservation, please contact [email protected]
Bali Office
Jl. Pengembak No. 2 Sanur, BALI 80228
INDONESIA
Tel 62 (0) 780 2408
Fax 62 (0) 747 4398