A Successful Venture For The Komodo Dragon
Several days into the mission, Burden sighted the dragon. Burden's notes and documentation reveal that he felt as if he was cast back in time, to a time when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. He reported the biggest lizard he had ever had the opportunity to set his eyes on and it was that moment that Burden knew the expedition would indeed be successful. Burden's next step was to establish traps all over the island, using dead boars as bait. As Lee Fai shot images of the captures, the team witnessed the Komodo dragon's strange eating habits—Komodo dragons are noted for their astonishing ability to swallow their prey in large chunks, bones and all.
Burden and his team managed to shoot and kill a number of Komodo dragons so that their bodies could be analyzed by scientists. Meanwhile, Burden had set up traps and blinds to capture live Komodo dragons. He would wait patiently in a blind so that he could pull the traps trigger when he saw a Komodo dragon that he wanted to capture—Burden didn't want just and dragon, he wanted the largest Komodo dragon that he could possibly capture alive. Unfortunately, the traps established by Burden and his crew were poorly equipped to manage the weight of the huge animal—a ten foot long Komodo escaped his trap because it could not keep the beast contained. Attempting again, Burden and his crew managed to get the creature under control and caged. Yet, overnight, the clever Komodo escaped the clutches of man.
Burden and his expedition team did manage to capture two living Komodo dragons. The bodies of the dead Komodo dragons numbered 12 and they were brought back to America for further analysis and study. Finally, Burden's expedition was actually the inspiration for the movie King Kong—Merian C. Cooper was so inspired by Burden's work, he adapted the storyline of King Kong from the adventures of Burden and his crew.
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