Island Hopping through Nusa Tenggara
Part Two: Komodo Island
Komodo Island lies to the east of Sumbawa. It is of course famous for the large, aggressive monitor lizard going by the same name - the Komodo Dragon.
I admit that I was prepared to be a little disappointed by these creatures, assuming that they might be kind of lethargic and used to mankind, but I can assure you that they are as big and ferocious as the nature documentaries tell you. They are not to be trifled with by any means, and are quite active (unlike, for example, crocodiles, which tend to just sit around until something takes their interest). To the far left of the photograph above, you can see one of the creatures (just its tail) attempting to climb up the steep embankment in an effort to get at the spongy, over-fed westerners peering back down at them over the ledge. Eventually, this giant lizard actually did made it up to the top of the ledge, sending us scattering for cover behind a fence!
The danger of the Komodo Dragon is not soley the result of their highly aggressive behaviour, but also from their toxic saliva. Even if you manage to escape from a pursuing lizard with only a little nick taken from, say, your leg, you're still in big trouble. Their saliva contains a lethal cocktail of bacteria against which no antidote exists.
There is a small village on the island (in the olden days, criminals and social 
outcasts were exiled here to fend for themselves against the reptiles), with buildings on high stilts, well out of lizard's reach. The chief income is derived from tourism, however the locals are by no means wealthy despite the uniqueness and worldwide appeal of the island's reptilian inhabitants.
Komodo's other claim to fame is the prestine and spectacular coral reefs in the area, making snorkelling and diving a popular activity.