Saturday, September 3, 2011

Komodo Dragons

After a couple of flights, I've made my way to Labuanbajo, an island near Komodo. The Komodo dragons are the world's largest lizard weighing in at over 200 pounds full grown and reaching 9 feet in length. It has massive claws, huge teeth, a creepy yellow forked tongue, and can expand its jaw to swallow a goat whole. It can sprint and raise up on two legs before attacking prey. Who wouldn't want one of these adorable little guys as a pet? It eats deer and buffalo, and, on occasion, farmers. The males also attempt to eat the eggs that the female lays, leading to an epic battle of the sexes. Adult dragons are cannibalistic, so the little ones live up in trees until age five. The dragons make those kids on Teen Mom look like model parents. The Komodos are a protected species since the world needs a real live nightmare Godzilla.

The diving near Komodo is supposed to be amazing, so I'll probably go tomorrow. The diving in the Gilli islands was insane. I saw 10 turtles in one dive yesterday! Then I'll probably take a boat the next day to get up close to these charming little critters.

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