#dragon behavior

[dragonology101]

Myths and Misconceptions: Dragon Hypnosis

Snakes are famous for being able to charm or hypnotize their prey, and so are dragons... but neither of them are actually capable of it. Luckily, this myth has somewhat faded out in the past few years as more people become aware of the wildlife around them, but that doesn't mean it's not still a prevalent idea in the popular consciousness.

Unlike other misconceptions about dragons (such as their supposed ability to breathe fire), an ability to hypnotize doesn't stem much from actual observable behavior as it does from urban legends and folk tales. It's likely these originally spread due to some predatory species outside of the family Draconidae becoming aggravated at eye contact combined with the admittedly fascinating sinuous winding of various snake species. While I wouldn't recommend looking, say, a tiger in the eye if you're being stalked by one, dragon body language doesn't put much stock in eye contact, and I can pretty confidently assert that they aren't any more likely to attack you if you look them in the eyes as opposed to at their claws or wings. (And I already have a post written about how unlikely dragon attacks really are!)

Interestingly, certain species seem more prone to having this myth applied to them than others. Wyverns in the family Avidraco (the only extant members of which being Avidraconis vulgaris and A. rhamphosodonis) are often the primary targets due to the common name "Cockatrice" having unfortunate connotations involving a deathly stare. I can confirm, as someone who has looked into the eyes of an A. vulgaris on several occasions, the only ability they possess is a deep desire to peck your eyes out! I consider that to be pretty far from hypnotic petrification. Larger species of wyrms such as the Mountain Wyrm—Dinodraco sulcata, not to be confused with the Lesser Mountain Wyrm of North America—also have hypnosis commonly attributed to them, but are equally incapable of it.

(Also, as a word of advice, don't look up scholarly articles disproving the various myths about this by typing "dragon hypnosis" into Google. The results are extremely unhelpful.)

[push-for-rat]

He doesn't even need money why he steal all the coins off the bed

[satoshy12]

After the JL was able to make that raging dragon calm down, They finally got him what he wanted. A rock? A thief had stolen; what got him to rage that much?  He returned to a human body as he looked up and down at his rock to make sure it was his nice space rock. 

Danny, as the new guardian of the Amulet of Aragon, had gotten the problem of collecting things. And the nice space rocks are his! Dragon possessive, and a dragon ghost even more.  After being thankful, he turned to a dragon and did fly away. 

Later Justice League

Bruce:" So... how old do you think the dragon was?" Zatanna:" He is a whelp. I don't think even past 15 years old... No!" Bruce:" I can give him many space rocks so he doesn't go berserk again." Zatanna:" We can just find a place for him to hide it better! Diana is already doing it. She said:" I want to make sure the poor baby dragon isn't killed and truly extinct."

Bruce:" So I just need to talk with Diana. Sounds easy. "

[poseidonewithyou]

varric attempting to talk solas down is the funniest choice actually.

“hey chuckles. remember that compassion spirit we co-parented a decade ago? crazy times. anyways-“

[spacenintendogs]

hiccup: my dad after he said "keep the damn dragon off the bed"

[prideprejudce]

"Alicent holds love for our enemy." honey the kids are starting to become aware of our gay love affair

[hekuuu]

oh I have so many feelings for them

[bixels]

Bit of a weird question, but what is your overall least favorite thing about MLP? 

Sparity.

[saturnniidae]

I don't think Hiccup can actually fully understand dragons (they don't really have a clear, learnable language. mainly communication through a range of sounds and body language), but his familiarity with Toothless' noises and mannerisms, and Hiccup's habit of mimicking them, has helped him understand the gist of what most dragons are trying to communicate and he often responds in kind. Sometimes he doesn't even realize when he's doing it and wonders why people are giving him such strange looks.

[heybiji]

dandelion talks about how when he died it was like he was floating in a sea of black, and the paladin, lafavel, tries to talk him into finding a deity because he's worried about this warlock's soul*

*it doesn't work. dande gets defensively antagonistic

[respectthepetty]

Sex is great and all, but have you ever watched a scene with so much tension that your soul left your body?

Like Togawa's thumb in Nozue's mouth?

Or Teh smelling Oh-aew?

Perhaps Ritsu giving Masumi some water?

Maybe Mangkorn commanding Yai to kneel and not speak?

Possibly Vegas sniffing Pete while forcing Pete to talk to his grandmother?

When Tan leaned into Bun and asked him this?

Did Li Cheng licking Mu Ren's lips finally do it?

Or is your soul intact and still very much tethered to your body?

[dragonology101]

Myths and Misconceptions: "Man-eating" Dragons

One of the most common questions I get asked about my dragonology research is "How do you keep yourself from being eaten?" It's funny, but it reveals one of the biggest misconceptions about these amazing creatures—that they're evil, bloodthirsty, or attack humans out of a specific malice instead of self-defense or because of desperation. Which simply isn't true! Dragons are often incredibly intelligent (while Draceous species have the biggest reputations for intelligence, and are indeed some of the smartest dragons in the world, even the comparably-maligned Pachysquamids are overall quite smart and trainable), but they're as malicious in their attacks as any other animal would be.

That doesn't mean dragon attacks don't happen. You only need a quick google search to find a headline about someone being attacked by a dragon at a national park or while rock climbing. But to compare a few numbers... Per to National Geographic, there are roughly 16 shark attacks off North American coasts every year, typically with one or no fatalities each year (according to a study in 2005). The United States Geological Survey website states that 4-6 cougar attacks occur each year in Canada and the States, although I can't find when that study was performed. Large dragon attacks happen an average of 4 times per year in North America, with the last fatal dragon attack occurring in 2017.

Almost every dragon attack documented worldwide is not the result of an animal attempting to prey on a human but caused by the dragon viewing a human as a threat. Not every dragon species performs parental care toward their chicks, but like bears, some dragon species are fiercely protective over their young and will attack perceived threats to them or their nesting sites. Only one dragon species in North America attacks humans with any degree of regularity—the Steller's Wyvern (Orcinodraco leucorhino) is responsible for 82% of large dragon attacks in recorded North American history, and out of that 82% approximately 95% of attacks are caused by someone encroaching on a dragon's territory during nesting season. While it isn't the fault of those people for not knowing (I don't expect anyone but a seasoned dragonologist to know the breeding seasons of any given species offhand!) it does thoroughly demonstrate that dragon attacks aren't the result of malice or hunger. Even in the remaining 5% of dragon attack cases for Steller's Wyverns, attacks were performed by injured individuals attempting to find a source of food in a campsite and finding awake and startled humans instead.

There is another angle to this concerning smaller dragon species. Dragons are inherently fascinating to most, and as they adapt to urban areas there are more opportunities for humans and dragons to come into conflict with each other. As dragons become more used to scavenging for food from humans (several species of small wyvern and wyrm, for example, have become adept at hunting rats and pigeons as well as looting overturned garbage cans), they become more habituated and less timid. Small dragon attacks most reliably happen in cities because of this.

This kind of behavior isn't restricted to smaller species, however. A notable case of a fatal dragon attack in 2010 involved a Common Northern Dragon (Eurodraco terribilis borealis) in Alaska that became accustomed to being fed fish and scraps of meat by a local family. The dragon grew bold enough that it at one point trapped the family in their homes by scratching at the door to be let in, and when a neighbor came to help, it attacked and killed him. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game was able to euthanize it after a multi-day search, which was an unfortunate but predictable end that caused the case to make national headlines. Even in that instance, when clearly hungry and with fresh meat available in the form of the innocent neighbor, the dragon in question didn't attempt to eat the human it killed.

That doesn't mean it's impossible for a dragon to eat a human. It has happened, even if it isn't with any sort of frequency. A known incident in Europe (Southern Poland) involving another Eurodraco species (this time not the northern subspecies but simply Eurodraco terribilis) in 2008 involved the skeletal remains of a missing hiker being found in a dragon's lair by another group of hikers, with forensics later showing that the hiker had been killed and eaten by a dragon. But these incidents are scattered throughout centuries, not years or even decades. No dragon, not even the largest species, makes humans a regular prey, no matter what medieval manuscripts would lead you to believe.

While they shouldn't be irrationally feared, dragons are wild animals and should be treated as such. Take the same precautions you would take with any other animal, and never try to hand-feed or habituate dragons no matter how small or cute they might be. Enjoy them from a distance, and don't become another Yellowstone tourist who gets burned and bit by a wyrm because you tried to reach into a hot spring to pet it!

[imogenkol]

Ok my first reaction was I didn’t like how the dragons disobeyed their riders like that, but after thinking about it I think it’s kinda brilliant when it comes to the behaviors of dragons.

First, both Arrax and Luke were really young and had absolutely zero combat experience. As soon as they saw Vhagar, it’s very obvious they simultaneously became a lot more tense. Then after Luke had his encounter with Aemond and left you can see Arrax looking in the direction of where Vhagar was in clear distress and Luke does the same thing before mounting. Luke realized their anxiety was high and he did his best to calm Arrax down before taking flight, but that all went out the window as soon as Vhagar gave chase. Now you have a child and a very young and small dragon that are bonded together in a very scary situation: being chased down by a behemoth in the middle of a raging storm (poor Arrax was flapping his wings as hard as he could) I personally think Arrax went on the offense to try and protect both himself and Luke, if only to give them a chance to escape. Both of them did the best they could.

Then you have Vhagar, an extremely old, massive, experienced dragon that is bonded to an inexperienced rider who is feeling a lot of unhinged rage and resentment. They were flying in attack maneuvers ffs I doubt she thought it was a game. And then this little dragon has the audacity to breathe fire in her face. Of course she’s not going to deal with that shit, as utterly tragic as her response is.

At the end of the day, dragons are not mindless war machines that will obey every command. They’re very powerful animals. No matter how trained or bonded with their owners they are, very powerful animals can and will do what they want.

[mirandahamilton]

1.02 | 1.04 | 1.08

[7greentears]

The gang.

[the-northern-continent]

Love how Varric is all “damn thing probably sensed Solas’ ego” as if he himself isn’t strolling in to stop a god with the power of dozens of Tevinter mages.