Huge monitor lizards. Known cases of Komodo dragon attacks on humans. Interesting facts about the Komodo dragon

Dragon from Komodo Island (lat. Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor lizard, also known as the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, is a lizard with the most impressive dimensions in the world.

flickr/Antoni Sesen

The average weight of the giant is 90 kg, and the body length is, accordingly, 2.5 m, while the tail occupies almost half of the body. And the length of the most powerful specimen, the parameters of which were officially recorded, exceeded 3 meters and weighed 160 kg.

The appearance of the Komodo dragon is most interesting - either a lizard, or a dragon, or a dinosaur. And the island aborigines believe that this creature is most similar to an alligator, and therefore they call it buaya darat, which translated from the local dialect means land crocodile. And although the Komodo dragon has only one head and does not spew out flames from its nostrils, there is undoubtedly something aggressive in the appearance of this reptile.

This impression is reinforced by the color of the monitor lizard - dark brown, with yellowish splashes, and (especially!) appearance teeth - compressed from the sides, with cutting, jagged edges. A quick glance at this perfect arsenal, which is a “dragon” jaw, is enough to understand: the Komodo dragon is not to be trifled with. With more than 60 teeth and a jaw structure reminiscent of a shark's mouth, isn't this the perfect killing machine?

What makes up the diet of a giant reptile? No, no, monitor lizards have only external similarities with vegetarian dinosaurs: the gastronomic preferences of the Komodo dragon are strikingly different from the food preferences ancient ancestor. The lizard's tastes are distinguished by an enviable variety: it does not disdain carrion and readily absorbs any living creature - from insects and birds to horses, buffalo, deer and even its own brothers. Maybe it is for this reason that newborn lizards, having barely hatched, immediately leave their mother, hiding from her in the dense crown of trees?

Indeed, cannibalism is a quite common phenomenon among Komodo dragons: the lunch menu of adult monitor lizards often includes younger, smaller relatives. A hungry monitor lizard can also pose a threat to humans, and there are often cases when the prey matches the attacker in its weight category. How do lizards manage to defeat their prey? Monitor lizards stalk large prey from ambush, and at the moment of attack they either knock down the victim with a powerful blow of the tail, breaking its legs, or bite their teeth into the flesh of a wild boar or deer, inflicting a deadly laceration.

The chances of survival of a wounded animal are scanty, since during a bite dangerous bacteria from the lizard’s mouth, as well as poison from the venom glands of the reptile’s lower jaw, enter its body. The inflammation develops at an accelerated pace, and the Komodo dragon can only wait for the victim to completely lose his strength and be unable to resist. He stubbornly follows the wounded prey, without letting it out of sight. Sometimes such tracking lasts up to three weeks - after that time, a buffalo bitten by a monitor lizard dies.

In the photo there is me, the dragon and a slightly excited Lera :)

Those who want to see these handsome guys in natural environment habitat would have to go to the Indonesian islands, since Komodo dragons live there. However, daredevils who are planning such a trip should be as careful as possible: monitor lizards have a keen sense of smell, and even a tiny drop of blood from a minor scratch on the body can attract a lizard located at a distance of 5 km with its smell. There have been cases of attacks on tourists, so rangers accompanying tourist groups are usually armed with long, strong poles. Just in case.

Komodo dragon- this is the largest reptile animal of the living lizards belonging to the “Scaly” order and directly related to the “Varanova” family.

This species of lizard can reach more than three meters in length; can you imagine a reptile longer than an ordinary small car? To be honest, it’s a bit difficult for us :-).

The world first learned about them in 1912, and before that time, local residents neighboring the island of Komodo, where these huge lizards currently live, called them terrestrial.

Sharp claws on its powerful paws and an elastic 1.5 tail make the victim tremble at the mere sight of this ruthless and ferocious predator.

Unlike its fellow giant, the Komodo lizard is much larger, stronger and more cunning. Females of this species are slightly smaller than males. The length of an adult male can reach up to 3 meters, but these are rare specimens, usually the average size is no more than 2.6 meters.

The weight of an average male does not exceed 95 kg, the weight of a female is 78 kg. The largest male with a body length of up to three meters can weigh up to 147 kg, but we must take into account the fact that he could have had a good lunch before weighing, so the real weight will be when we subtract 17-20 kg from the total weight.

The body color of the island giant is dark rusty with amber spots mixed with specks. Young animals are slightly lighter in color, have reddish-orange spots on their ridges, and they reluctantly merge into thin stripes on the neck and tail.

On the front and rear edges of its teeth, which are laterally compressed, have serrated and cutting edges. This shape of the teeth helps it tear out large pieces of meat from a dead carcass.

The long forked tongue plays the most important role in search of food. He is able to recognize the scent of a potential victim at a distance of more than 9.5 kilometers.

Its four limbs are well developed, moreover, they are equipped with curved claws about 10 cm long, capable of inflicting mortal wounds even on such a formidable animal as.

This species of reptile lives only on the Indonesian islands. Let's be a little more specific and call all the islands by name:

• Gili Mota;
• Komodo;
• Rindja;
• Flores;
• Padar;
• Ovadi Sami;

Some islands are located close to northern Australia. Scientists have suggested that this species of lizards previously lived in Australia, then for unknown reasons migrated to the aforementioned neighboring islands about 900 years ago.

All the islands on which this type of reptile lives have a mountainous and rocky structure, and there are also minor tropical jungle with a cultural landscape.

The Komodo dragon leads a solitary lifestyle, prefers to sleep at night, finding a dill, dry and warm place for itself, and in the morning when the warm rays heat its body to desired temperature he goes fishing.

An undisturbed animal moves slowly, raising its head slightly upward, and its tail is in an elevated state. If you try to catch it, it immediately becomes aggressive, delivering numerous blows with its powerful tail trying to knock down the enemy.

He is an excellent sprinter and can compete over short distances with. It can also easily catch up with a running person. The speed while chasing prey can reach up to 23 km/h. On maximum speed he cannot move for long, so he prefers to guard his prey in ambush and attack it at the most opportune moment for him.

Juveniles spend a lot of time in trees. It is difficult for adult lizards to climb a tree due to their enormous body mass, but if they need to catch prey, they his tail, on which he operates while climbing, can help with this.

After a meal, young animals spend time in trees and tree hollows, while adults and old animals give their preference to rocky crevices or wet holes in the tropical forest.

Nutrition

The diet of this animal is quite varied, and it does not disdain carrion. The daily menu of an adult animal includes:

• Deer;
• Birds;

In addition to the above diet, young individuals can also eat small birds.

Hunting

We have already briefly mentioned the fact that adults run fast, but only over short distances; young animals, due to their low weight, are much more resilient and faster.

For hunting, this species has developed special tactics that allow them to get a wonderful meal with minimal energy consumption. Getting as close to the prey as possible close quarters, he freezes and waits for the victim to approach him.

Then it lunges at the victim and knocks it to the ground with its powerful jaws. Having fixed the animal with his teeth and paws, shaking his head in different directions, he tears off large pieces of meat and immediately swallows them. It’s curious, but after the animal is satisfied, it licks the remaining part of the carcass with its bloody tongue. This is probably the behavior of the animal that is associated with the stories about the “fire-breathing dragon.”

The mating season of monitor lizards begins at the end of June. During this period, fierce fights occur between males, during which they can injure their opponents, even to the point of death. This is justified, because the better the male’s territory, the greater the likelihood that the female will go to him.

A fertilized female lays more than 30 eggs in the ground at the end of July, and then carefully buries them for more than 8 months. The sun will do the rest of the work, its rays heat earth's surface to the desired temperature. After eight months, small lizards no more than 27-30 cm long hatch. Having got out, the tiny lizards become vulnerable because they can easily dine on them:

• And even large individuals of a related species;

The young are quite timid; the slightest rustle makes them hide under stones and in trees. Having survived the three-year period, his body length is more than one meter in length, and he no longer has to be so timid. By the age of five, the length of his body has doubled and he is ready to mate.

This taxon is not currently threatened. Let's assume this is due to the fact that there are no people living on the islands. The approximate number of monitor lizards living on all the islands combined reaches more than 5,100 individuals.

On uninhabited islands, the monitor lizard lives from 24 to 37 years.

1. The largest Komodo dragon lived at the St. Louis Zoo. its length was more than 3 meters and 15 cm, and its weight reached 167 kg.
2. One adult lizard can eat a large deer alone, but after that it takes a whole week to digest it.
3. The appearance of the egg of this lizard resembles that of a goose, but it is covered with a leathery surface.
4. The length of the tail of this predator is exactly half of its total length.
5. If several monitor lizards gather near the prey, then a complete hierarchy reigns among them.

Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world. These are unique animals: they are excellent swimmers, they can climb trees, they have an excellent sense of smell and, to top off the list, they are very poisonous. The bite of a monitor lizard can be fatal to humans.

The monitor lizard has many names - Komodo dragon, Komodo dragon, and the locals call it ora or buaya darat(“land crocodile”).

These giants live only on a few islands located in the group of the Lesser Sunda Islands - about. Komodo, o. Rinka, o. Gili Motang and Fr. Flores.

Adult males reach 2.5 - 3 meters and weigh 70 kilograms. Although there is evidence that the largest specimen reached a length of 3.13 meters and weighed 166 kilograms. Females are smaller and reach a length of only 1.5 - 2 meters. The length of the monitor lizard's tail is approximately half the length of the body. The color is dark brown; young individuals have bright yellowish spots on their backs. The mouth is equipped with teeth with cutting edges, which are suitable for tearing meat into pieces.

Monitor lizards are diurnal animals. During the hottest time of the day they hide in the shade, and in the afternoon they go out hunting. At night they sleep soundly in their shelters. Young monitor lizards are excellent climbers and live in hollows for their own safety.

Komodo dragons are excellent swimmers. They can safely swim across small rivers, bays, or cover the distance to neighboring nearby islands. True, there is one “but” here. They cannot survive in water for more than 15 minutes. And if they don’t manage to get to land, they drown. Perhaps it was this factor that influenced the natural boundaries of the habitat of these animals.

Monitor lizards run fast; over short distances, their speed can reach 20 km/h. When necessary, they can stand on their hind legs, using their powerful tail as support.

They dont have natural enemies. They themselves will destroy anyone. But they happily feed on young monitor lizards predator birds and large snakes.

Komodo dragons are omnivores. They eat everything from large insects to horses, buffalos and other monitor lizards. Yes, yes, intraspecific cannibalism is common among these lizards. This is especially true during famine years. Adults often eat smaller relatives.

They wait in ambush for their prey. Sometimes they knock her down with a blow from her huge tail, breaking her legs. Large specimens prefer carrion, which they provide for themselves. The thing is that they cause a lacerated wound to the animal, which becomes infected. Inflammation of the wound and blood poisoning occurs. After some time the animal dies. The monitor lizard, thanks to its forked tongue, which is an organ of smell, finds the corpse of a victim even at a distance of several kilometers. Other monitor lizards also come running to the smell of carrion. A fight begins, the purpose of which is to establish dominance among the males.

The monitor lizard can swallow small prey whole, but tear large prey into pieces. Females and young animals mainly feed on what is left from dinner or on birds and small animals.

The breeding season for monitor lizards begins in winter, during the dry season. The number of males is 2 times greater than the number of females. Therefore, ritual battles for females take place at this time.

After mating, after 6-7 months, the female goes in search of places to lay eggs. Most often they become nests of weed chickens, large compost heaps or high piles of fallen leaves. She digs a deep hole there and lays 20 eggs, each weighing 200 grams. The female guards her nest for 8-8.5 months until the small monitor lizards hatch. Immediately after their appearance, their self-preservation instinct kicks in and before they are eaten, they climb the neighboring trees. They live there for the first 2 years.

Many have heard that a lizard bite can be fatal. It turns out that their saliva contains 57 different strains of bacteria that cause inflammation of the wound and blood poisoning. It is believed that these bacteria came from eating carrion. This is true, but here lies another secret.

More recently, in 2009, scientists at the University of Melbourne proved that monitor lizards have poisonous glands that are located on the lower jaw. They secrete a venom containing various toxic proteins that cause cessation of blood clotting, decreased blood pressure, muscle paralysis and loss of consciousness. The ducts of these glands are located at the base of the teeth, and the poison is mixed with saliva, which contains many bacteria.

Monitor lizards are dangerous for humans, this applies to a greater extent to him poisonous bites. If you do not seek medical help in time, death cannot be avoided. They pose a particular danger to children. During famine years, there are recorded cases of children dying from these monsters. There are known cases of monitor lizards digging up corpses from graves.

It is forbidden to kill these animals. They are listed in the IUCN Red List. A national park was organized especially for them on Komodo Island.

Komodo Island is located in the very center of the Indonesian archipelago. This is the habitat of unique and most large lizards in the world - Komodo dragons.

We are in Indonesia. Komodo Island is relatively small, its area is about 390 sq. km. Almost its entire territory is occupied by National Park Komodo, created in 1980 to protect Komodo dragons. Coastline as if cut by rocky capes, clearly of volcanic origin:

The nature here is unique. Almost the entire territory is covered by arid savannah.

You can get here from the island of Bali using the following tourist equipment:

In general, Komodo is an island often visited cruise ships from all over the world:

You need to come here because of this unique miracle of nature - the Komodo dragon! This terrifying, deadly dangerous monitor lizard lives on the island. This is his home.

So, Komodo dragons - giant lizards, reaching a length of 3 meters and weighing up to 150 kg! The natural lifespan of monitor lizards in the wild is probably around 50 years.

Handsome. Komodo dragons feed on a wide variety of animals. Their victims are fish, sea ​​turtles, wild boars, buffalos, deer and reptiles. Also, repeated cases of attacks on people have been recorded.

At first glance, these lizards seem very clumsy and unhurried. However, when running over short distances, the monitor lizard can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h. On relatively big catch they hunt from ambush, sometimes knocking the prey down with blows of its powerful tail, often breaking its legs in the process.

Monitor lizards are at the top the food chain islands. And this is their prey - a deer:

Reptiles do not have poisonous teeth, but their bite is most often fatal. Having tracked a deer, wild boar or other large prey in the bushes, the monitor lizard attacks and tries to inflict a laceration on the animal, into which many bacteria from the oral cavity are introduced. As a result of such an attack, the victim experiences blood poisoning, the animal gradually weakens and dies after some time. The dragons of Komodo Island can only follow the victim and wait for her to die.

Tourists and monitor lizards are not separated by a fence with barbed wire, or any ditch, or anything to inspire confidence in safety. Groups of tourists are usually accompanied by rangers armed with long poles with forked ends to defend against possible dragon attacks.

As shelters, monitor lizards use holes 1-5 meters long, which they dig with their powerful paws and claws.

Komodo dragons are less dangerous to people than crocodiles or sharks. However, the quantity deaths due to untimely provision of medical care after bites (and, as a result, blood poisoning) reaches 99%!

To reach food at a height, the monitor lizard can stand on its hind legs, using its tail as a support. Komodo dragons are good climbers and spend a lot of time in trees.

About 1,700 monitor lizards live on Komodo Island. On the neighboring island of Rinca there are about 1,200 individuals. According to scientists, Australia should be considered the homeland of Komodo dragons.

Cannibalism is common among Komodo dragons: adult lizards often eat smaller individuals. Therefore, as soon as the cubs are born, they immediately instinctively climb a tree, looking for shelter there.

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the administrator of the island of Flores (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbrouck, that there were no people living on the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. known to science giant creatures.

Van Stein's report stated that in the vicinity of Labuan Badi on Flores Island, as well as on nearby Komodo Island, there lives an animal that the local natives call "buaya-darat", which means "earth crocodile".

Komodo dragons are one of the species potentially dangerous to humans, although they are less dangerous than crocodiles or sharks and do not pose a direct danger to adults.

According to local residents, the length of some monsters reaches seven meters, and three- and four-meter buaya-darats are common. Curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at Botanical Park The province of West Java, Peter Owen, immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition in order to obtain a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Hensbroek sent her skin and photographs to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy, since the natives were terrified of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the zoological museum sent an animal capture specialist to Flores. As a result, the staff of the zoological museum managed to obtain four specimens of “earthen crocodiles,” two of which were almost three meters long.

Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on their smaller relatives.

In 1912 Peter Owen published in the Bulletin botanical garden an article about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming an animal previously unknown to the spider Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). It later turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Rytya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. A careful study of the archives of the Sultanate showed that this animal was mentioned in the archives dating back to 1840.

First World War forced to stop research, and only 12 years later interest in the Komodo dragon resumed. Now the main researchers of the giant reptile are US zoologists. On English language this reptile became known as komodo dragon(comodo dragon). The expedition of Douglas Barden managed to catch a living specimen for the first time in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed specimens to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

RESERVED ISLANDS
Indonesia's Komodo National Park, protected by UNESCO, was founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs with an area of ​​more than 170 thousand hectares.
The islands of Komodo and Rinca are the largest in the reserve. Of course, the main celebrity of the park is the Komodo dragon. However, many tourists come here to see the unique terrestrial and underwater flora and fauna of Komodo. There are about 100 species of fish here. There are about 260 species of reef corals and 70 species of sponges in the sea.
The national park is also home to animals such as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, and cynomolgus macaque.

It was Barden who established the true size of these animals and refuted the myth of seven-meter giants. It turned out that males rarely exceed a length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is no more than two meters.

One bite is enough

Many years of research have made it possible to thoroughly study the habits and lifestyle of giant reptiles. It turned out that Komodo dragons, like other cold-blooded animals, are active only from 6 to 10 am and from 3 to 5 pm. They prefer dry, well-sunny areas, and are usually associated with arid plains, savannas and dry tropical forests.

In the hot season (May - October) they often stick to dry river beds with jungle-covered banks. Young animals can climb well and spend a lot of time in trees, where they find food, and in addition, they hide from their adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on their smaller relatives. As shelter from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Tree hollows often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

Komodo dragons, despite their size and external clumsiness, are good runners. Over short distances, reptiles can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers, and over long distances their speed is 10 km/h. To reach food at a height (for example, on a tree), monitor lizards can stand on their hind legs, using their tail as a support. Reptiles have good hearing sharp vision, but their most important sense organ is smell. These reptiles are able to smell carrion or blood at a distance of even 11 kilometers.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. On Komodo and Rinca there are approximately 1000 each, and on the smallest islands of the group, Gili Motang and Nusa Koda, there are only 100 individuals.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually becoming smaller. They say that the decline in the number of wild ungulates on the islands due to poaching is to blame, so monitor lizards are forced to switch to smaller food.

In the photo m A young Komodo dragon near the carcass of an Asian water buffalo. The power of the jaws of monitor lizards is fantastic. Without effort, they open the victim's chest, cutting through the ribs like a huge can opener.

GAD BROTHERHOOD
From modern species Only the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor attack prey significantly larger than itself. The crocodile monitor's teeth are very long and almost straight. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful bird feeding (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, which makes it easier for them to dismember prey in the tree where they spend most life.

Venomous teeth - poisonous lizards. Today there are two known types of them - the gila monster and the escorpion. They live primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico in rocky foothills, semi-deserts and deserts. Toothworts are most active in the spring, when their favorite food, bird eggs, appears. They also feed on insects, small lizards and snakes. The poison is produced by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands and flows through the ducts to the teeth of the lower jaw. When biting, the teeth of the poisonous teeth - long and curved back - enter the body of the victim almost half a centimeter.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They eat practically everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-washed fish, rodents. And although monitor lizards are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and often large animals become their prey: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and feral goats, and even the largest ungulates of these islands - Asian water buffalos.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but more often hide it and grab it when it approaches at close range.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very intelligent tactics. Adult monitor lizards, emerging from the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, stopping from time to time and crouching to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. Wild boars They can knock down deer with a blow of their tail, but more often they use their teeth - delivering a single bite to the animal's leg. This is where success lies. After all, now “ biological weapons» Komodo dragon.

Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell.

It has long been believed that the prey is ultimately killed by pathogens found in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the “deadly cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria and viruses found in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

The Komodo dragon has two venom glands in its lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. When these proteins enter the victim’s body, they prevent blood clotting and reduce blood pressure, contribute to muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. The whole thing leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo dragons is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located on the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in the poisonous teeth, like in snakes.

In the oral cavity, poison and saliva mix with decaying food debris, forming a mixture in which many different deadly bacteria multiply. But this is not what surprised scientists, but the poison delivery system. It turned out to be the most complex of all similar systems in reptiles. Instead of injecting it with one blow with its teeth, like poisonous snakes, monitor lizards have to literally rub it into the wound of the victim, making jerks with their jaws. This evolutionary invention has helped giant monitor lizards survive for thousands of years.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow the heels of the victim all the time. The wound does not heal, the animal becomes weaker every day. After two weeks, even such a large animal as a buffalo has no strength left, its legs give way and it falls. It's time for a feast for the monitor lizard. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at him. His relatives come running to the smell of blood. In feeding areas, fights often occur between males of equal value. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

Who is next?

For humans, a huge head covered like a shell, with unkind, unblinking eyes, a toothy gaping mouth, from which protrudes a forked tongue, constantly in motion, a lumpy and folded body of a dark brown color on strong splayed paws with long claws and a massive tail. is the living embodiment of the image of extinct monsters of distant eras. One can only be amazed how such creatures could survive today practically unchanged.

The only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca sizes from 5 to 7 m and weight 650-700 kg

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago, the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption fits well with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg was found on this continent. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin language, as a “great ancient vagabond,” preferred, like the Komodo dragon, to settle in grassy savannas and sparse forests, where he hunted mammals, including very large ones, such as diprodonts, various reptiles and birds. These were the largest poisonous creatures that ever existed on Earth.

Fortunately, these animals became extinct, but their place was taken by the Komodo dragon, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to the islands forgotten by time to see the last representatives of the ancient world in natural conditions.

Indonesia has 17,504 islands, although these numbers are not definitive. The Indonesian government has set itself the difficult task of conducting a complete audit of all Indonesian islands without exception. And who knows, maybe after its completion there will still be open known to people animals, although not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!