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Mount Merapi

Mount Merapi the height 2968m, is located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Merapi is the youngest in a group of volcanoes in southern Java. It is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in
Indonesia but It is the most dangerous active volcano in the world. It can be seen from its name means
Mountain of Fire, Merapi from Javanese word Meru means mountain and Api means fire. It has erupted
regularly since 1548. It is very close to the city of Yogyakarta, and thousands of people live on the flanks of
the volcano, with villages as high as 1700 m above sea level.

In 1994 sudden eruption, some people of the South-West have been killed by the heat cloud. Although
smoke can be seen emerging from the mountain top at least 300 days a year, several eruptions have
caused fatalities. In 1998, the volcano erupted again. Hot gas from a large explosion, this 3000 0 Celsius heat
substance should melt and burnt easily anything found on its way. Another large eruption occurred in 2006,
shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. Typically, small eruptions occur every two to three years, and
larger ones every 10-15 years. A very large eruption in 1006 is claimed to have covered all of central Java
with ash. The volcanic devastation is claimed to have led to the collapse of the Hindu Kingdom of Mataram,
its ashes had buried totally the temple.

Merapi continues hold particular significance for the Javanese: it is one of four places where officials from the
royal palaces of Yogyakarta and Solo make annual offerings placate the ancient Javanese spirits. The local
people call the pyroclastic flows are known as "Wedus Gembel" (Javanese for "shaggy goat"). Mount
Merapi is the site of a very active volcano monitoring program.

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Rafflesia Arnoldii

The world's largest flower is found in many areas in Bengkulu forests, on the slopes of Bukit Barisan
Mountains. Its blossom attains a diameter over a meter and can weigh up to 22 pounds. Not only is it the
world's largest flower, it is one of the most bizarre and improbable organisms on the planet.

Rafflesia comes after the name of an adventurer and founder of the British colony of Singapore, Sir Stamford
Raffles. After a jungle expedition in Sumatera Island (1821-1822), Raffles and Dr.Joseph Arnold, a young
accompanying assistant surgeon in the Navy with a passion for natural history. both of them came across
(discovered) this fabulous flower. There are about 26 described species of Rafflesia.

Rafflesia is a disembodied flower. It’s a genus of parasitic flowering plants. A rootless, leftless and stemless
parasite, it drains nourishment and gains physical support from its host vine. Its only body outside the flower
consists of strands of fungus-like tissue that grow inside the Tetrastigma vine. It only flowers for 5 to 15 days,
before the petals blacken and the flower withers. The "flowering Beast" begins to smell like a rotting meat,
attracting blue bottle flies for pollination. It is generally found at altitudes between 500 and 700 meters in the
forests of Borneo, Sumatra and Java, Peninsular Malaysia and Philippines. In this tropical rainforests the
climate is continuously warm, generally between 24-27Celsius with humidity. It appears in periodic of 5 years
or more.

Komodo Dragon (Varanus Komodoensis)

The world’s largest living species of lizard, approximately 4,000-5,000 that inhabits the islands of Komodo,
Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, and Gili Dasami, in central Indonesia. A member of the monitor lizard family
(Varanidae). It’s growing to an average length of 2–3 meters (approximately 6.5–10.3 ft) and weighing around
70-166 kilograms (154-365 lb). They may live as long as fifty years. Komodo dragons are carnivores and
cannibalistic.

Komodo dragon does not have a particularly acute sense of hearing, despite its visible earholes, and is only
able to hear sounds between 400 and 2000 hertz. It’s able to see as far away as 300 meters (985 feet), but
because its retinas only contain cones, it is thought to have poor night vision. The Komodo dragon is able to
see in color, but has poor visual discrimination of stationary objects. The Komodo dragon uses its tongue to
detect taste and smell stimuli, as with many other reptiles. If aided by favorable wind, enables it to seek out
carrion up to 5 miles (8.5 kilometers) away. Its mouth is full of virulent bacteria and even if its prey survives
the original attack, it will die of infection later. Mating occurs between May and August, with the average of 30
eggs laid in September, the incubation period of 7–8 months.

The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places, and typically lives in dry open grassland, savanna, and
tropical forest at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most active in the day. Komodo dragons are largely
solitary, coming together only to breed and eat. Despite its size, the Komodo is fast moving and agile. They
are capable of running rapidly in brief sprints up to 20 kilometres per hour (12.4 mph), and like all monitor
lizards they are good swimmers, diving up to 4.5 metres (15 ft), and they climb trees proficiently when young
through use of their strong claws. To catch prey that is out of reach, the Komodo dragon may stand on its
hind legs and use its tail as a support. As the Komodo dragon matures, its claws are used primarily as
weapons, as its great size makes climbing impractical.

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