MONDO KOMODOS (at the zoo)

It seems unlikely that I’ll ever reach the isolated islands of Komodo and Rinca, home to  the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. Lucky for me, the zoo at Surabaya ---Kebun Binatang Surabaya --- has a fine collection of these bad boys. Over 30 hatched here in 2009.

The zoo itself is pretty tired, and in desperate need of a facelift.  But there is a good collection of animals with an aquarium of sorts, and the park has a nice layout with plenty of open space for both man and beast. On weekends, families converge for picnics and photo ops, and the kids often come dressed up in animal costumes (which look cute but uncomfortably warm).

Back to the Komodos. Locally known as ora, these fearsome creatures can be 9’ long. With powerful legs and jaws, sharp teeth, razor-like claws, and a tail that can deliver a knock-down blow, they are a dangerous enemy. Dragons can swallow a goat whole. To hunt larger animals like buffalo, they will use the potent and poisonous bacteria in their mouths to bite once and wait until their prey is weakened enough to finish off. The males will also try to eat the female’s eggs, leading to marital spats that make the legendary Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton smackdowns seem like a honeymoon.

Here are some pictures from the dragon dens. Note the free-for-all at feeding time (I think the meal was raw rack of lamb or goat), and the white forked tongue in the solo shot. Man, these are not warm and fuzzy creatures.

A few other pictures worth showing. This Sumatran tiger came up to the edge of his cage to look me right in the eye. His neighbor was getting fed with a chicken by means of a clothes line pulley; he leapt up to tear it down and make short work of devouring it. Beautiful cats.

The bird is a species of hornbill with an incredibly ornate and colorful bill and "eye shadow."