Komodo dragons are pretty badass creatures as they are intimidating, ferocious and terrifying. They can weigh up to 85kgs, chow down on pigs, deer, snakes, fish and water buffalos and their reddish salvia is venomous.
Yeah - they're bloody impressive.
They're only found on Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. People fly in from all over the world to see them up close and personal and they pay top dollar for it.
But one Indonesian governor wants to up the ante with these beasts in order to get more visitors.
East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat has told the Sydney Morning Herald that he'd like to see Komodo Island shut down for a year in order to rehabilitate it.
He also wants to work with universities to see how they could genetically engineer the beasts to make them bigger. How big is a mystery but it certainly sounds like they're trying to create a Jurassic Park for the dragons on Komodo Island.
Of course, those types of things don't come quickly, but with technology progressing the way it is, seeing komodo dragons the size of horses or bigger in the coming years isn't outrageous.
Laiskodat hopes that by rehabilitating the area and creating super dragons they could charge people even more than they are now.
"I hope if a [foreign tourist] comes to Komodo Island, they have to pay $US1000 [$1450] a year," he said.
But closing the island could spell disaster for the people who depend on it to live.
West Manggarai chapter of the Association of Indonesia Travel Agencies spokesperson Marta Muslin told the SMH: "I was told that 600 trips from Asia, Europe and the US to Komodo Island this year were cancelled. The governor's statement has directly affected 4550 workers in the tourism industry in West Manggarai regency."
The proposal will be put before Indonesia's environment and forestry minister, who will see whether it's worth their while.
Marta says it definitely could be beneficial as long as the plans are done right.
"The money could be used for conservation works and for police to patrol the island so there would be no illegal poaching of deer," she said. "How much the increase would be should be based on a study."
So who knows, maybe in the coming years we'll be able to go to this island and witness absolute massive komodo dragons roaming around.
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