Komodo is a small island of 280 square km located between the islands of Sumba and Flores. The island is almost all hill and barren except for palm trees and some wood but it is famous for is giant lizards which are considered the last of their kind remaining in the world today.

To many modern naturalists, this island is so particularly interesting, because of this unique species, called the Komodo Dragon. Called “ora” by the local people, Komodo “dragon” (Varanus Komodoensis) is actually a giant monitor lizard. Growing up to 2,5 - 3 meters in length, 45 – 150 kg weighs and can run at speeds of 20 km per hour. Its ancestors roamed the earth up to about half million years ago. It is both carnivorous and fearsome predator, utilizing a strategy of stealth and power to capture prey. Komodo lives on carrions of goats, deer, and even the carcasses of its own kind.

Komodo is protected by law and though they are considered harmless, it is advisable to keep them at a distance. Komodo is now a nature reserve being part of a national park. It is home to a number of rare bird species, wild buffalo, horses, boar, Timor deer, Macaque monkey, palm civet cats and wild pigs, which are prey to the lizards as well. This type of Dragon can be found in other islands, they are; Rinca, Padar, and Flores (on the West and Central of Flores Island).

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