Komodo Rangers

An illustrated story by Little Lantern · Kids · 3D animation · All ages · English, Turkish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean

Also in: Türkçe · Deutsch · Español · Português · Français · Bahasa Indonesia

A ranger's daughter befriends a curious young Komodo dragon and helps protect his wild beach.

On Kenari Island, eleven-year-old Sari joins her ranger mother Ratna on patrol and meets a young Komodo dragon with a star-shaped mark, whom she names Bintang. She learns the first rule of the wild: watch, never touch. Together with Mira, a visiting photographer, they track a lost drone across dragon country and discover a sea turtle nesting on Bintang's beach. Through a monsoon storm and a moonlit hatching night, Sari learns patience and courage, and the beach becomes a protected place.

Characters

Sari (Junior ranger): An eleven-year-old girl who lives at the ranger station with her mother and dreams of becoming a ranger.
Bintang (Young Komodo dragon): A curious young wild Komodo dragon with a star-shaped mark on his head, who lives on the quiet cove below the ranger station.
Ratna (Park ranger): Sari's mother, the island's head ranger, who has watched over its dragons for fifteen years.
Mira (Wildlife photographer): A visiting wildlife photographer whose drone goes missing over the island.

Episode 1: A Star on the Sand

On her first patrol with her ranger mother, Sari meets a young Komodo dragon with a star on his head, learns the rules of the wild, and sees a drone fall from the sky.

Sari runs down the station steps at sunrise. — *Kenari Island, Indonesia. Home of the dragons.*
**Sari**: Mama, wait! My first patrol!

Ratna teaches the first rule of the wild. — **Ratna**: Rule one: we watch. We never touch.
**Sari**: Never touch. Got it, Mama!

Sari finds strange tracks on the beach. — **Sari**: Footprints! And a long line... a tail!

A young Komodo dragon steps out from behind a driftwood log. — **Ratna**: Slowly. Stay right where you are.

Close-up: a star-shaped mark on his head. — *Flick, flick!*
**Sari**: He has a star on his head!

Sari names him Bintang. — **Sari**: Bintang. It means star!
**Ratna**: He's wild, not ours. But a name is nice.

Bintang follows them along the shore at a distance. — **Ratna**: He's curious. Keep five big steps away.
**Sari**: Five big steps. I promise!

A drone wobbles overhead and drops into the forest. — *Bzzz... bzzt!*
**Sari**: Something is falling from the sky!

Mira arrives at the station, out of breath. — **Mira**: My drone! It has a whole year of my photos.
**Ratna**: Don't worry. We'll help you find it.

At sunset, Bintang stares toward the forest. — **Sari**: Why is Bintang looking at the forest?
*Maybe he already knew where it was.*

Episode 2: The Lost Drone

Sari, Ratna and Mira follow the drone's last signal across dragon country, give a sleeping dragon plenty of room, and find the drone with Bintang waiting below it. Its camera holds a surprise: a sea turtle nesting on Bintang's beach.

The controller shows the drone's last signal. — **Mira**: Last signal: near the old watering hole.
**Ratna**: Dragon country. We stay together.

Crossing the golden savanna. — *Into the hills, where the big dragons live.*

Sari spots Bintang's tracks on the trail. — **Sari**: Bintang's tracks! He went this way too.
**Mira**: You really are a ranger.

A big dragon sleeps near the watering hole. — **Ratna**: A big one. We go the long way round.

Mira takes a photo from far away instead of getting closer. — **Mira**: I've never been this close.
**Sari**: This is close enough. Mama says so.

Sari hears a faint beeping. — *Beep... beep...*
**Sari**: Listen! Something is beeping!

The drone hangs in a tamarind tree, Bintang below it. — **Mira**: There it is!
**Sari**: And Bintang found it first!

They wait patiently for Bintang to move on. — **Ratna**: We wait. This is his home, too.
**Sari**: I can be very patient.

Mira nudges the drone down and Sari catches it in her hat. — *Plop!*
**Sari**: Got it!

The drone's video shows a sea turtle nesting on Bintang's beach. — **Mira**: Wait... what is this?
**Sari**: A sea turtle! On Bintang's beach!
**Ratna**: Her babies will hatch in the rainy season.

Episode 3: The Monsoon

Weeks later, the first great storm of the monsoon catches Sari and Mira at the turtle nest. They shelter at the station through the night, find Bintang safe beneath its stilts, and clear the storm's wreckage away from the nest.

Checking the turtle nest under darkening clouds. — *Eight weeks later, the monsoon came.*
**Sari**: Almost time, little turtles.

Ratna's voice crackles over the radio. — *Krrsh!*
**Ratna**: Storm coming fast. Come back to the station now!

Running through the rain, Sari looks back for Bintang. — **Sari**: Where is Bintang?
**Mira**: He knows how to hide. Run!

Ratna waves them in at the station door. — *BOOM!*
**Ratna**: Inside, quickly!

The power goes out; they gather by a lantern. — **Ratna**: This station has stood through thirty monsoons.
**Sari**: I hope Bintang found a good place to hide.

Mira shares her photos by lantern light. — **Sari**: Which one is your favourite photo?
**Mira**: I haven't taken it yet.

Dawn: the storm is over. — *Creak!*
**Sari**: It stopped! The sky is clean!

Bintang slept safe and dry under the station. — **Sari**: Bintang! You slept under our house!
**Ratna**: Smart dragon. Let him rest.

The beach is covered in storm wreckage; the nest markers are gone. — **Sari**: The nest! The sticks are gone!

Together they clear the log and find the nest safe. — **Ratna**: The eggs are deep. They are safe.
**Sari**: And the path to the sea is clear!

Episode 4: Lights Out

Under a full moon the turtles begin to hatch, but visitors light up the beach with bright lamps. Sari bravely asks them to switch off, the hatchlings reach the sea, and Mira's photos help make Bintang's beach a protected place.

The sand over the nest starts to sink. — **Ratna**: When the sand sinks, they are coming.
**Sari**: Tonight? Really?

Bintang goes to sleep in his burrow. — **Sari**: Good night, Bintang.
*Dragons sleep at night. The babies would be safe.*

Bright lamps light up the far end of the beach. — **Mira**: Baby turtles follow the light. They will go the wrong way!

Sari runs to the visitors and asks them to switch off. — **Sari**: Please turn off your lights! Baby turtles are hatching!

One by one, the lamps go dark. — *Click. Click. Click.*
*One by one, the lamps went dark.*

The first hatchlings burst out of the sand. — **Sari**: Here they come!

The hatchlings race to the moonlit sea. — **Ratna**: No lights tonight. Just the moon.
*Eighty-two little turtles ran for the sea.*

The last little turtle is stuck in a footprint. — **Ratna**: Don't touch it. Just smooth the sand.
**Sari**: Go on, little one. The sea is right there!

Next morning, the village agrees to protect the beach. — **Ratna**: From today, this is a protected beach.
**Sari**: For the turtles, and for Bintang!

Bintang basks on his protected beach while Sari watches from afar. — *The beach stayed wild. And it had a new ranger.*
**Sari**: See you tomorrow, Bintang.