IN THE FAILING YELLOW LIGHT of early evening the little fishing boat rocked gently in the bay off the quiet and mysterious island. The two-man crew stared up at at the forbidding mountains. Were the tales they had heard of this place true? They were torn between two emotions, a deep curiosity and desire to go ashore to explore, and an equally deep fear of what they might find there.
This island in Indonesia, northwest of Australia,is one of the green dots of land in the blue Flores Sea. Elsewhere such island might be famous for grass=skirted girls and guitar music. But no one then lived on this island in the chain, the island of Komodo, and it was known as the home of a remarkable dragon.
Up those slopes, toward the ancient volcanic peak towering two thousand feet above the sea, stretched green carpets of vegetation. Tall lontar palms stood on the hillsides like umbrellas on their long, clean trunks. Steep-walled canyons were choked with jungle-thick brush. It must be in these tangles that the giant reptiles with their long forked tongues and glaring eyes raced about on short scaly legs, devouring other creatures.
Perhaps the pearl fisherman drifting offshore were hungry for wild foods to supplement their constant diet of fish. Maybe they thought this island might provide a good base for their fishing operations. But they must have wondered, too, if the old folk had given them the straight story or simply fed them a preposterous tall tale. There was only one way to be sure.
They dropped anchor, sloshed ashore, and began climbing. Soon they paused to rest. While they stood there, one of them reached out and silently touched the arm of his companion. He nodded toward the trail ahead. Together they stood speechless, staring at the frightening beast that had waddled from the underbrush and now blocked their path while its beady eyes were trained upon them.
There is no record of how long it took the exploring fisherman to return to their boat. But later fisherman did establish a small outpost on Komodo, the island of the dragons.
This island of Komodo is a strange and lonely place where few outsiders come. It is one of a little cluster of islands formed long ago by volcanic action, pushing steam and molten rock from the sea. The islands are known as the Lesser Sundas, and they lie like gems in the blue sea east of Java. Strong currents and rip down through the passages these islands, and these rough seas have discouraged visitors.
Komodo was not a great distance, however, from the museum in the town known today as Bogor,on Java. There the museum director, Major P.A. Ouwens, first heard the strange accounts as pearl fisherman told what they had seen on Komodo. Major Ouwens must have questioned the stories. Such tales are not easily believable. The year was 1912, and surely if there were monstrous dragons on Komodo, or anywhere else on earth for that matter, men of science would know of them by now.
On occasion, the governor of that group of islands made his rounds on inspection tour. Never had there been reason for him to stop long on Komodo. Then, Major Ouwens made his strange request.
Would the governor mind, the next time he stopped around Komodo on his inspection, going inland a bit and seeing about this dragon thing?
When the governor arrived, he found two pearl fisherman on the island. The governor even saw the remains of one of these lizards. He carried the story back to Ouwens, and the museum director was now on the trail of a new scientific discovery.
Major Ouwens decided to send an expedition to Komodo.As he made preparations for his staff to depart, he hesitated to tell anyone the objective of the trip. One could not blame him. Who would want the neighbors saying with raised eyebrows, "Did you hear about the major? He's sending an expedition they say, to search for dragon. Strange man, the major."
But what the major found from this visit to Komodo was soon to be repeated around the world, especially among scientists. Crawling on those green slopes were the creatures the world came to know as the Komodo dragons. They were cousins of the dinosaurs. Somehow they had survived through the ages into the present. They were, by far, the largest lizard anywhere on earth. One skin brought to the major measured thirteen feet.
Later others went to search for the Komodo dragons, and found them living also on the nearby island of Rintj, and a portion of Flores. Together these bits of land are but a speck on the map of the world. This is hostile country for the careless or unfortunate. Living here are deadly green vipers, cobras, wild boar, and water buffalo, while sharks and poisonous sea serpents cruise the edge of the sea.
No doubt Major Ouwens, like most of us, had been exposed to his share of dragon pictures and stories. In fairy tales any self-respecting dragon must have piercing eyes, long scaly tail, long, low body, and be should be a bit of a flame thrower, breathing fire out of his nostrils or perhaps his ears.
The Komodo dragon fell short of this on one point. It did not breathe fire. Otherwise the first one viewed by Major Ouwens possessed all the features a dragon could ask. The lizard was fully ten feet long. Later some were recorded at lengths of twelve and thirteen feet.
The head of the Komodo lizard is broad and flat and covered with scales which overlap a rugged armor. His whole body is armor plated in this way. The eyes are set well back on the sides of the head. This gives him a wide field of vision, making it difficult to sneak up on him.
Out of his mouth flicks a long forked tongue that vibrates and tests the breezes for odors of food. His mouth is blood red on the inside. It opens like a cavern as the beast tears into his food. The mouth is so wide that most of the head is jaws, and rows of sharp edged teeth line the jaws and curve backward, hooking into and holding the food securely.
Each food is equipped with five long sharp claws. These are useful in digging in the earth and also in tearing meat into bits. The tail is long and heavy and the giant lizard can flick it quickly and use it as a crushing weapon. The body is like a great wrinkled leather bag, dark bluish black with flecks of yellowish undercast around the neck and underside.
Young Komodo dragons hatch from eggs about the size of goose eggs. From this small container emerges about twenty-one inches of long, slender reptile. The young are more yellowish than their elders and at once are very active. Young Komodo lizards dash all about and can even climb trees. Half grown ones five and six feet long have been known to climb into trees and lie along the branches over hanging the jungle trail.
Most of the Komodo dragon's days and nights, however, are spent either feeding or resting. At rest he many lie quietly beside a game trail. Or he may hide in the darkness of one of the burrows he digs in the hillsides.
Because reptiles are cold blooded, these creature seek the warmth of the sun. Lying there in the open,they turn with the sun, basking and adjusting from time to time to keep themselves comfortable.
Their appetite is fearsome to consider. Their most common food is carrion. They search out the dead deer, goats, wild boars, and water buffalo, and tear them into chunks for immediate consumption. Fresh meat seems to hold less appeal for them than it does once it has begun to rot. Men who have traveled to Komodo to trap or photograph the dragon, usually begin by putting out a dead goat for bait. After the meat has been a few days in the hot sun, the lizards' flicking, forked tongues begin to pick up the strong odors.
Then they come out of the dense cover to the food. As they hold the carrion down with their broad strong feet, their mighty jaws rip the flesh apart. There is nothing dainty about the eating habits of the lizard. Into those gaping red mouths go flesh, bones,hair and anything else in the way. A large Komodo dragon can swallow the entire hind quarter of a deer or goat in a single bite, As long as the food lasts, they continue to store it away in their expanding cavernous bodies.
To watch largest of all living lizards eat carries an observer back million of years into the dim age when dinosaurs ruled the earth.
Will these monsters attack live animals? "Yes," say those who have studied them. "They will attack a beast as large as a pony." Dashing out of hiding from the shadows of the trees, giant lizards grab and hang onto their victim. But large animals sometimes break away and later carry scars as evidence of their brush with death.
There are no records of a Komodo dragon having attacked a man unprovoked. The human who sees one coming can outrun it. He might even set a new track record. When a Komodo dragon is captured, it struggles and fights fiercely. It snaps and grabs at anything or anyone within reach. But a dragon can be forgiven for this.
Today there are still populations of these giant lizards crawling about on their native islands, primarily on Komodo. But their numbers have dwindled, and their future is threatened. There may be no more than a few hundred of them remaining. They are listed now on the official roster of the world's rare and endangered wildlife. With them on the same list are nearly one thousand rare birds, mammals, snakes, fish, and others. But no other dragons. That seems a shame in a world that was once rich in dragons.
0 comments:
Post a Comment