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Komodo
New 7 Wonders of Nature
Northern tip of the island
Geography
Location South East Asia
Coordinates 8.55°S 119.45°ECoordinates: 8.55°S 119.45°E
Archipelago Lesser Sunda Islands
Area 390 km2 (151 sq mi)
Country
Indonesia
Province East Nusa Tenggara
Demographics
Population c. 2000
Ethnic groups Bugis, others
Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of
Indonesia. The island is particularly notable as the natural habitat of
the komodo dragon, the largest lizard on earth and consequently named
after the island. Komodo Island has a surface area of 390 km² and a
permanent population of over 2,000. The inhabitants of the island are
descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who
have mixed with Bugis from Sulawesi. The population are primarily
adherents of Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu congregations.
Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands and forms part of
the Komodo National Park. In addition, the island is a popular
destination for diving. Administratively, it is part of the East Nusa
Tenggara province.
Vegetation on Komodo Island
Contents
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.
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.[1]
Komodo has been included into the controversial New7Wonders of Nature list since November 11, 2011.
Location
Komodo lies between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east.
Fauna
Komodo Dragon
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 Island and some of the smaller surrounding islands,
as well as part of western Flores. Javan deer also inhabit the island,
though they are not native. Other animals include buffalo, civets,
cockatoo and macaques.
Pink Beach
Komodo contains a beach
with pink sand, one of only seven in the world.[2] The sand appears pink
because it is a mixture of white sand and red sand, formed from pieces
of Foraminifera.
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