This story appears in the November 2017 issue of National Geographic magazine. The Komodo dragon, the largest species of lizard now alive, can grow to 10 feet long and nearly 200 pounds.

Here’s what it takes to catch a dragon. Slaughter a goat. Cut it up. Enlist a few strong friends to hoist three ten-foot-long steel traps, grab bags of goat meat, and trek a few miles up and ...