Komodo Dragon in Dry Savanna

Komodo Dragon in Dry Savanna is an original illustration set in Komodo Island, Indonesia. It lies in equatorial latitudes, where the climate is tropical savanna — a pronounced dry season.

A very large lizard walks diagonally through sun-bleached savanna, its massive low body, muscular tail and splayed legs clearly shown. Dry golden grass covers rugged ground with scattered lontar palms, and rocky ridges stand behind under hard light.

Why does a lizard this large exist only on islands?

A predatory lizard at this size exists only on islands, where the absence of large mammalian carnivores leaves the role open and reptiles grow to fill it. Sun-bleached grass with fan palms on a rugged island means a strongly seasonal monsoon climate — soaking wet for a few months, then bone dry. The dryness is why savanna, not rainforest, on a tropical island.

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