truck vs komodo dragon in bali

Recently a picture of a stand off between Komodo Dragon and a truck became viral on the internet, causing an uproar about the "Jurassic Park" themed project spearheaded by the government of Indonesia.

After the uproar, the officials of Komodo Dragon Park has announced the closure of a section partially. The closure of one of the three larger Islands, Loh Buaya Resort at Pulau Rinca is scheduled to last till June 30, 2021. However an evaluation will be done fortnightly according to an official announcement.

It is still not confirmed who is the photographer but it has quickly symbolized the struggling nature vs human interference in the region. The photo has helped spawn the trending hashtag #SaveKomodo today, while a petition urging the revocation of development permits at the park has been signed by more than 341,000 people. 

However another conflicting orders were issued after the uproar According to Kawan Baik Komodo, which prohibits photography on Pulau Rinca, as posted in the tweet below: 

“You may not get any more photo updates. The good friends of Komodo on the field are afraid of being criminalized, because there’s now a letter of [temporary] closure and also prohibition. What’s happening at the Komodo National Park will be even more obscure for the public,” the collective said in another tweet. 

Initially the park was established in 1980 sprawling across three large Islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar and 26 smaller islands covering over 1800 kms. It was declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1991.

The controversial plan of transforming the park to partially "Jurassic Park" style destination was announced last October. Activists and local residents have previously said that the proposed concrete-based project could potentially harm the komodo’s natural habitat.