March 15, 2019,    Komodo Island, Indonesia        63/183

Eagerly anticipating our excursion to see the Komodo dragons today.  Even the cruise
up to the island helps to whet our enthusiasm, as the topography appears to be straight
out of Jurassic Park.

Male Komoto dragons grow up to 10' long, live up to 50 years and can smell dinner
  5 miles away.  We were cautioned not to wear 'any' red, not to have cuts or
open sores.
- they can run about 20 km/h but only in a straight line, so the guide rangers coached
  us to run a zig zag pattern if chased.  Rangers also carried forked sticks to control
  the bad boys.
- Komodos lay eggs which incubate for 9 months with the female guarding them for
  the first three. She abandones her broad for the remainder, only to return as they hatch,
  with the intention of eating her new hatchlings. Somehow, the new born know to
  escape, with trees becoming their refuge for 2 to 3 years.
- These goof balls are cannibals, so anyone smaller is on the menu, including recently
  deceased family members.
- We were told that Komodos lay in ambush,  then launch surprise attacks where they
  bite their prey to wound them.  The legend is that Komodos have 60 bad bacteria
  in their saliva which disables the victim in a day or two.  Well, a search of Net
  verifies this is not true, as the dragons have normal saliva, but do have venom in
  their gums which poisons prey.

 Merrilynne and I aren't too worried as we can run faster than some of our companions!

Weather was perfect with a cloud cover and slight breeze.  Our tour covered 5 km with
numerous komodos, deer and wild hogs being sighted.  All in all, a great day.

Topography as we cruised into Komodo Island



Unidentified love birds

Yearling Komodo hanging out near civilization, likely safer!

Fleeting glimpse of a wild hog.



Escaped Komodos so far!