Dragon Smugglers Forcing a Shutdown of Komodo Island
Contents of this Issue: All publicly available
Truk Odyssey, Chuuk, Micronesia
There’s an Easier Way to Dump Air from Your BC
By Land or by Sea: What Makes for the Best Diving?
Cozumel, Raja Ampat, Cuba, Grand Turk . . .
Reader Reports: Easier to Write, and Now with Photos
Got any Tales of Unexpected Dive Travel Bills?
Yes, Sport Divers Get PTSD, Too
Even Royal Family Members Are Dive Fatalities
Snorkeler Gets Swallowed by a Whale
Fly for Free to Your Dive Destination
Dragon Smugglers Forcing a Shutdown of Komodo Island
Your Letters to the Editor
The Real-Time Data Every Dive Computer Should Have
How This Diver’s Coastal Cleanup Plan Has Turned Him into a Hero
Trinidad Diver Survives a 44-Mile Swim
Don’t Ignore that Dive Injury
Flotsam & Jetsam
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from the May, 2019 issue of Undercurrent
The allure of Indonesia's Komodo Island for divers
is the massive manta rays gliding around underwater,
and the massive Komodo dragon lizards walking
around topside. It is threats to the latter that may
shut down the island entirely to tourists starting in
January 2020.
Smugglers are stealing the dragons due to demand
in other parts of Asia for dubious medicinal purposes
(their blood is packed with antimicrobial peptides, a
built-in defense against infections by all living creatures).
The decision to close the island came just days after nine men were arrested on suspicion of selling
more than 40 Komodo dragons for about $35,000 each.
The temporary shutdown is expected to give officials
an opportunity to increase the dragon population and
preserve their habitats. Some reports indicate there are
just 6,000 of the dragons left in existence, and fewer
than 500 of those are females capable of breeding.
But there's still a glimmer of hope for divers wanting
to see Komodo's manta rays: We still don't know
how or if this would affect liveaboards operating close
to the island's shores.
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