and may refer to Chinese sailors’ tales of real dragons on a few small Indonesian islands. As well as Komodo, they are found on Rinca, Padar and Flores, where the lizard colouring is lighter.

This story appears in the November 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. The Komodo dragon, the largest species of lizard now alive, can grow to 10 feet long and nearly 200 pounds.

Although the Komodo dragons are the most renowned of its natural wonders ... One of only seven of its kind in the world, Pink Beach in Komodo National Park gets its unusual color from a microscopic ...