East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Natural Resource Conservation Center
(BBKSDA) estimates that more than 40 Komodo dragons are living outside
the province’s national park in West Manggarai regency.
The agency
found Komodo dragons in the sanctuaries of Wae Wuul, Wolo Tadho and
Riung in Ngada regency, and in the bays of Nangalili, Watu-Manuk, Ende
and Maumere.
“Local people have also reported seeing Komodo
dragons in Nampar Sempang village in East Manggarai,” the BBKSDA's head,
Wiratno, said on Saturday.
“The Komodo Survival Program has found 28 dragons so far,” he says.
In
August, operators from the Wolo Tadho Sanctuary caught a male dragon,
which has now been moved to Ontoloe Island. The dragon weighs 24.4
kilograms, is 136 centimeters long and has visible wounds on its back,
face and tail.
Medical teams from the conservation center and
national park are treating the animal with antibiotics, anti-stress
medication and vitamins.
Ontoloe Island is a Komodo dragon habitat
located far from civilians, to avoid conflicts with local people. It is
approximately twice the size of a soccer pitch, and is located near the
Wolo Tadho Sanctuary.
“There are lots of animals for the Komodo
to eat on the island, like wild boar, monkeys, deer and forest
chickens,” Wiratno said.
A team will also be dispatched next week
to search for several dragons that allegedly escaped from their natural
habitat in Sambi Rampas district, East Manggarai regency. Local people
say the Komodos might have escaped due to a road-building project, for
which explosives had been used.
The agency is planning to conserve
the rare dragons outside national parks, having surveyed some habitats
in the sanctuaries of Wolo Tadho, Riung and Ontoloe Island, using the
2012 regional budget. The study will continue until 2013.
“The
survey involves the Forest Protection and Natural Conservation
Directorate General, the regional administration and civil society
organizations,” he said.
