The Search For The Komodo Dragon
W. Douglas Burden absorbed all of the cost for the official Komodo dragon expedition. Since Burden footed the bill, he was allowed to choose the people that accompanied him to the Island of Komodo . Seeking people with experience in the tropical regions of the world, Burden took F.J. Defosse, and a professional herpetologist by the name of Dr. E.R. Dunn, along with his wife on the Komodo dragon expedition. Additionally, photos of the expedition were captured by Lee Fai and Burden hired on some fifteen Malaysians for assistance.
After intense communications with the ruling government of Komodo; the Dutch government ruled the Island of Komodo in 1926, the government willingly offered Burden and his team a steamship to travel to the island and gave him official government permission to capture as many as fifteen of the exotic creatures known as Varanus komodoensis— so named by the researchers from the Buitenzorg Zoological Museum that had first investigated Komodo dragon reports after their sighting in 1912.
Piling into the government supplied steamer, the S.S. Dog, Burden and his expedition team reached the Komodo Island after a short rest in Bali , Indonesia . In reflections, Burden recalled the vast and barren landscape of Komodo. The Komodo Island was originally formed by volcanic activity and the land is relatively barren except for the variety of trees that are scattered across the island's surface.
The Landing on the Perilous Island of Komodo
The expedition team landed on the Island of Komodo and immediately sought out a good area for shelter. The team chose an area on high land, and while searching for a place to set up their camp, the team noted their first hint that the Komodo dragon existed: extremely large footprints were found in the fresh, damp soil, similar to other reptilian creatures.
Burden faced the many environmental dangers on the island of Komodo while seeking out the dragons. Shortly after his arrival on the island, Burden was viciously attacked by an Indian buffalo and he narrowly escaped the encounter. The longer the team remained on the island of Komodo the more they realized the dangers of Komodo. Burden and his team kept ample notes on their discoveries and reported finding numerous venomous snakes, scorpions and other deadly creatures on the Island .
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