Tourists banned from Komodo Island for a year

One of Indonesia’s most popular tourist attractions, where you can see the world’s largest and most dangerous lizard, will be off-limits to visitors in 2020, according to a report in the local newspaper, Tempo.

Komodo dragons, found on the island, are infamous for their venom and these carnivorous reptiles will eat deer, pigs, monkeys, large water buffalo, and even humans, if given the chance. After biting its intended prey, a Komodo dragon will follow the injured creature for kilometres, patiently waiting for the toxin to take effect. Once the prey is sufficiently weak (or dead), the dragon will feed.

These reptiles are a protected species and although the government has been in talks about limiting visitor numbers to the island for some time, a recent smuggling incident spurred the decision to close the island to the public entirely for a year, from January 2020.

According to Tempo, ‘The closure is in response to the alleged smuggling case of 41 Komodo dragons sold abroad with the price of Rp500-million [about R500,000] each. The smuggling case of the endangered, protected animals was exposed by East Java Police.’

Komodo Island falls within the Komodo National Park, a World Heritage Site that was established in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon. The park comprises of the three bigger islands of Komodo, Padar and Rinca, as well as 26 smaller islands in the surrounding waters of the Sape Straights. The ban will only affect Komodo Island at this time, while the rest of the park will remain open to tourists.

Marius Jelamu, spokesperson for the provincial administration, said, ‘The closure will give the government time to conduct conservation as to ensure the food stock of the dragons and preserve the nature and environment in the island, for example, planting endemic plants of East Nusa Tenggara.’ He added that the closure should help preserve this habitat and help the population of Komodo dragons to increase.