E. Nusa Tenggara refuses to send Komodos to Bali

Thu, 11/12/2009 1:00 PM  |  The Archipelago

KUPANG: Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan has sent a special team to Komodo Island to persuade the East Nusa Tenggara governor to allow the central government to move 10 Komodo dragons to Bali for research.

The East Nusa Tenggara governor has refused to bow to pressure.

"The administration and the people of East Nusa Tenggara appreciate the forestry minister's intentions to study the Komodo dragon *the world's largest lizard and an endangered species*," Governor Frans Lebu Raya said Wednesday.

"But it should be conducted in their original habitat at Komodo National Park."

Kristo Blasin, a councilor at the East Nusa Tenggara Legislative Council, supported the governor's position.

"Whatever the central government's argument, the Komodo dragons must remain in their natural habitat."

The Forestry Ministry is currently in the province to conduct a series of campaigns about the importance of studying Komodo dragons.

The government has planned to move 10 Komodo dragons to the Bali Safari and Marine Park in Gianyar, Bali. - JP

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