JAKARTA — The Dinosaur Age may soon come to an end – again.
According to The Jakarta Post, Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia’s most popular attractions, will close for one year to increase the local population of Komodo dragons and the deer they prey on.
The exact dates of the closure have yet to be announced.
Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat, Governor of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) administration, said that the temporary closure will allow the provincial administration to more effectively manage the park and develop the dragons’ habitat.
He also said that dragons in the current population aren’t as big as they used to be, which he blames on a decline in the local deer population due to poaching.
With fewer deer to eat, Viktor also said there’s a chance that the lizards could start preying on their own kind to survive.
“It’s natural instinct will emerge when [the population of one of the animals] in the komodo dragon’s food chain declines,” he said. “If food is abundant, the Komodo dragons will [use] a different instinct. This is why the administration wants to manage the Komodo dragon’s habitat by temporarily closing the area to visitors for one year.”
Komodo National Park is located between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara, and comprises three large islands – Komodo, Padar and Rinca – as well as 26 smaller ones. It was founded in 1980 to protect the prehistoric-looking Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard that can grow as large as 150 kilograms.