Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from Sulawesi. The population are primarily adherents of Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu minorities.

Charging Komodo Dragon at the Island of Komodo video

Location

Komodo lies between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east.

Fauna

The island is famous not only for its heritage of convicts but also for the unique fauna which roam it. The Komodo dragon, the world's largest living lizard, takes its name from the island. A type of monitor lizard, it inhabits Komodo and some of the smaller surrounding islands, attracting many tourists.

Komodo Dragon

Discovery

The Island was visited in 1910 by a Dutch Officer Van Steyn van Hensbroek.

See also

• Islands of Indonesia

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