Humans really do suck sometimes.
Although Komodo Island is one of the few islands a part of Indonesia, the island is especially special due to being a main habitat for Komodo Dragons. Komodo Dragons are the largest and heaviest lizards in the world and can kill any of their prey with one bite due to it being extremely venomous. Which would make more sense to stay away, but I guess not since tourists are stealing these dragons as they are visiting the island.
The Indonesian government recently announced last Friday that Komodo Island would be closed starting in January 2020 for a year, so the island’s dragons could increase in population and sustain their natural habitats. This also translates to closing from human interferences because humans suck… sometimes.
The announcement was made after the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry discovered and busted nine guys trying to smuggle the dragons, so they could steal them for $35,000 per creature. This raised red flags due to the Komodo Dragon being a protected species due to its unique characteristics of being able to grow to 10 feet long and weighing up to 200 pounds.
Over-Tourism has been a constant issue around the world because it often results in natural habitats of animals and environments to be destroyed or damaged. This is due to the lack of knowledge tourists carry when visiting these foreign places of what to do and what not do, and they’re also being large populations all at once in the same place. Some Thai Islands also temporarily closed, so they can protect and preserve their coral reefs due to it being bleached by the sunscreen that comes off of tourists once they enter the waters.
How are we supposed to help and preserve the Earth if we lack the basic knowledge of what hurts it the most? It’s us. Us, humans that constantly refuse to acknowledge our actions of polluting, not being sustainable, or carried away with seeing sights are hurting foreign environments. It’s time for tourists to stop worrying about their next Instagram picture or their own wants to sightsee, since if they keep it up, there won’t be anything left.
Read more about Coral Bleaching and its effects on the Great Barrier Reef…
