The small 280 sq km island known as Komodo Island is located between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. This island is famous for its giant lizard which is considered the last species left in the world today, the Komodo dragon. Called “ora” by the locals, the Komodo “Naga” (Varanus Komodoensis) is actually a giant monitor lizard. With a length of 3 to 4 meters, its ancestors roamed the earth about half a million years ago. Komodo dragons live on goats, deer, and even carrion of their own kind.

The island's only human population is in a fishing village called Komodo who supplement their income-breeding goats, which are used to feed the lizards. Komodo dragons are protected by law and although they are considered harmless it is advised to keep their distance. Komodo Island is now a nature reserve home to a number of rare bird species, deer and wild pigs, which are also prey for lizards.