4th September - Labuan Bajo - Komodo dragons

Wednesday 4th September

Glorious Labuan Bajo sunset!

And to follow - slightly horrid Komodo Dragon tales…

Nearly all dragon stories are faintly horrifying.  For a start, the female dragons guard their nests most fiercely.  We saw a couple having a real go at one another. Aji was a bit worried they might veer off in our direction and he made us back up, silently, while he stood in front of us with his big forked stick.  One of them had deep scars on her side, the evidence of past mauling. 

And so what happens, after all of this protection of the eggs, guarding of the eggs?  Well as soon as the little baby dragons hatch…both their mothers and their fathers and in fact all of their larger relations try their best to gobble them up whole!  Until they are big enough to fight for their lives, young dragons climb trees and hide, trembling, in the higher branches where their hungry parents can’t get at them…

There is a small encampment for the workmen at the ranger station.  The men live and work there for ten days, then have ten days back at home.  Some of them come from the local villages, others from Labun Bajo – the Big Smoke.  It all seems very matey and convivial.  They sit around in the café, smoking (100% smoking rate there.)  And at about 7.30 they wander up to the camp where the cook has prepared something nourishing.  These jobs are very desirable, in the region.  But very low pay…and not very good conditions.  If there are no tourists, then there is no money.  And there is no shift rate, or stand-down money for their ten days back at home.

I deliberately said workmen and not workers.  There are no women working as guides or rangers, in the Komodo National Park.  When we went for our long walk we asked Aji why not.  And he gave us the best reason EVER for not employing females…

Our manager is very frightened to have women working in the park.  When they are menstruating the dragons can smell their blood and they try to hunt them…

AAAGGGHHH!!

We also heard a ghastly story of a ranger who was, with great lack of judgement, doing a poo behind a tree in the forest.  Dragons can not only scent blood…This man did survive a horrific attack but only just!