The Dragon Chronicles | About | Nature

As a young boy, renowned reptile expert and conservationist Romulus (“Rom”) Whitaker dreamed of finding dragons. Years later, the successful herpetologist decided to set out to discover the real-life origins of these mythical monsters.

Rom’s snake park and crocodile bank in India, where he works to conserve and breed reptiles in the wild, were the first of their kind when he created them. Now he travels the world in search of modern day dragons. In the caves of Slovenia, he encounters the peculiar creature known as the olm, a cave-dwelling blind salamander once believed to be a baby dragon. In the rainforests of India’s Western Ghats, Whitaker handles flying lizards, belonging to the species called Draco. When threatened or courting, the males extend the bright yellow flaps on their necks. Whitaker captures one and gently stretches out its amazing wings. Finally, Rom’s quest leads him to Indonesia’s Komodo Island, where he sees a wild Komodo dragon for the first time.

The Dragon Chronicles follows Rom as he journeys around the world, reimagining the lines between fact and fantasy, in search of the fabled beasts’ contemporary counterparts.

Production Credits Print

Television Credits

Narrated By
F. MURRAY ABRAHAM

Director
BEN ROY

Editor
PIP HEYWOOD

Cinematography
SHEKAR DATTATRI
SIMON WAGEN
ROBIN SMITH
JAMES BICKERSTETH

Music
AUDIO NETWORKS

Sound Recordist
SARAVANAKUMAR

Production Co-Ordinators
ABI HOBDEN
CLAIRE HICKMAN

Production Team
TOM KELPIE
POPPY CHANDLER
MERRYN THOMAS

Post Production
FILMS AT 59

Graphics
BIG SQUID

Special Thanks
HEREFORD CATHEDRAL
MADRAS CROCODILE BANK TRUST CENTRE FOR HERPETOLOGY
POSTOJNA CAVES TOURISM
ADRIA AIRLINES

Images
WITH THE KIND PERMISSION OF © THE NATIONAL GALLERY
WITH THANKS TO THE BRITISH LIBRARY
WITH THANKS TO BRISTOL’S CITY MUSEUM & ART GALLERY

‘CONVERSATION WITH SMAUG’ IS BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN AND IS © THE J.R.R. TOLKIEN COPYRIGHT TRUST 1937

For Icon Films

Producer
ANDIE CLARE

Executive Producers
HARRY MARSHALL
LAURA MARSHALL

For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Senior Producer
LAURA METZGER

Producers
IRENE HESS
JILL CLARKE

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Production Assistant
JAYNE JUN

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Re-Recording Mixer
BRIAN BEATRICE

Online Editor
DAVID NOLING

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive In Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Production of Icon Films Ltd and Thirteen in association with Granada International, National Geographic Channels International and WNET.ORG.

This program was produced by Thirteen, which is solely responsible for its content.

Web Credits

Producer
TANNER VEA

Production Assistance
DIANA COFRESÍ-TERRERO
CHIE WITT

Designer
JOY WEEENG

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Creative Director
NICK MILLER

Director of Digital Strategy
DAVID HIRMES

Director of Production
DANIEL B. GREENBERG

Writers

for "Introduction," "Interview: Rom Whitaker, Reptile Expert," "The Komodo Dragon's Remarkable Physiology," and "The Hereford Mappa Mundi"
CAROLYN KORMANN

for "The Olm and Other Troglobites"
IRENE TEJARATCHI HESS, NATURE Producer

Photos for “Introduction," "The Komodo Dragon's Remarkable Physiology," and "The Olm and Other Troglobites" © WNET.ORG/Icon Films. Photo for "Interview: Rom Whitaker, Reptile Expert" © saravanakumar/Icon Films Ltd. Other images from The Dragon Chronicles.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Dan Goldman, Executive Director, thirteen.org. Bob Adleman, Business Manager.