UPDATE ABOUT KOMODO ISLAND - APRIL 27TH
We were just in Komodo Island last month and had an incredible time. Recently, one of our fellow passengers told us that the authorities are closing the Island next year because of poaching. I hadn't heard anything about this and, after checking some websites, it is true.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/indonesia-closing-island-protecting-endangered-komodo-dragons
What a crime!
One article said that the dragons were being smuggled out of the country for "medicinal" purposes. Well, as cynical as I am, and not being a screenwriter (because this would make a great movie), I don't believe that legitimate pharmaceutical companies are paying smugglers to remove dragons from the Island. I would bet money that, somewhere in the world, someone believes that parts of the dragons are an aphrodisiac, thus paying upwards of $35,000 per dragon. Disgusting.
I just don't know why the park is being closed next year to tourists instead of being closed immediately. Fortunately, dragons remain available to see in different parts of the Komodo National park on Rinca and Flores Islands. They're remarkable creatures and, unless someone tells me that they hold the key to the cure for Alzheimer's Disease and other neurological diseases (which, by the way, we've been advised by a neurologist onboard that these diseases are now an epidemic in the U.S.), and can be safely used to find a cure, I say, "Leave them alone!"
https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/indonesia-closing-island-protecting-endangered-komodo-dragons
What a crime!
One article said that the dragons were being smuggled out of the country for "medicinal" purposes. Well, as cynical as I am, and not being a screenwriter (because this would make a great movie), I don't believe that legitimate pharmaceutical companies are paying smugglers to remove dragons from the Island. I would bet money that, somewhere in the world, someone believes that parts of the dragons are an aphrodisiac, thus paying upwards of $35,000 per dragon. Disgusting.
I just don't know why the park is being closed next year to tourists instead of being closed immediately. Fortunately, dragons remain available to see in different parts of the Komodo National park on Rinca and Flores Islands. They're remarkable creatures and, unless someone tells me that they hold the key to the cure for Alzheimer's Disease and other neurological diseases (which, by the way, we've been advised by a neurologist onboard that these diseases are now an epidemic in the U.S.), and can be safely used to find a cure, I say, "Leave them alone!"
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