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DRAGONS and stuff
Well this is supposedly supposed to be my world-building-type blog so let's do some~
I've been thinking about the... I guess logistics of dragons, lately, as a sort of spin-off of playing with anatomies. Things like hunting methods, social hierarchies, habitats and suchlike. For this, I'll be talking solely about six-limbed winged dragons, like the typical European variety.
Dragons are carnivorous predators, of course. I toyed with the idea of them being scavengers and it's a possibility I'm keeping in mind for some species, but the angle I've been thinking over is for the predators.
Now, the common view of draconic hunting is clearly based on raptors - swoop in, grab an animal, fly off with it. Often back to the cave/lair to eat it. This... is not very likely, for a number of reasons. Nor is it necessary.
The first and obvious point of difference between birds of prey and dragons is the number of limbs. Birds have only four limbs, so they only have two limbs which they can use for standing, walking and grabbing their prey. Additionally, hunting beaks are not well designed for carrying prey, so that option is also out.
The particular variety of dragons I am currently discussing have jaws with teeth, as well as four feet for walking and grabbing. The resulting implication is that there is absolutely no need for them to grab and carry. They can easily attack the prey from the air, land with/on it, and then eat it on the spot (or, if necessary, nearby). Since they have those teeth, four clawed limbs, and possibly other means of attack/defense, they also don't need to worry as much about being vulnerable while on the ground.
An additional benefit of this is not having to lug a sheep or deer or cow all the way back home, which saves energy and thus means the dragon's overall food consumption doesn't need to be as high.
J happened to know a bit about fox territories and eating habits, which were extremely useful. Foxes eat small rodents, which are a comparably sized meal for a fox as a typical temperate ruminant is to these dragons. A fox's territory averages at about a day's journey (for the fox) from one end to the other.
This is a reasonable size for a dragon's territory as well. Since dragons are larger, they need a large hunting territory to be supported without wiping out the local prey. However, dragons can also fly, which greatly enhances their ability to quickly and easily travel distances. It's therefore a reasonable conclusion that a given species of this class of dragons would have a territory ranging about half a day's flight radius out from the lair.
I've been thinking about the... I guess logistics of dragons, lately, as a sort of spin-off of playing with anatomies. Things like hunting methods, social hierarchies, habitats and suchlike. For this, I'll be talking solely about six-limbed winged dragons, like the typical European variety.
Dragons are carnivorous predators, of course. I toyed with the idea of them being scavengers and it's a possibility I'm keeping in mind for some species, but the angle I've been thinking over is for the predators.
Now, the common view of draconic hunting is clearly based on raptors - swoop in, grab an animal, fly off with it. Often back to the cave/lair to eat it. This... is not very likely, for a number of reasons. Nor is it necessary.
The first and obvious point of difference between birds of prey and dragons is the number of limbs. Birds have only four limbs, so they only have two limbs which they can use for standing, walking and grabbing their prey. Additionally, hunting beaks are not well designed for carrying prey, so that option is also out.
The particular variety of dragons I am currently discussing have jaws with teeth, as well as four feet for walking and grabbing. The resulting implication is that there is absolutely no need for them to grab and carry. They can easily attack the prey from the air, land with/on it, and then eat it on the spot (or, if necessary, nearby). Since they have those teeth, four clawed limbs, and possibly other means of attack/defense, they also don't need to worry as much about being vulnerable while on the ground.
An additional benefit of this is not having to lug a sheep or deer or cow all the way back home, which saves energy and thus means the dragon's overall food consumption doesn't need to be as high.
J happened to know a bit about fox territories and eating habits, which were extremely useful. Foxes eat small rodents, which are a comparably sized meal for a fox as a typical temperate ruminant is to these dragons. A fox's territory averages at about a day's journey (for the fox) from one end to the other.
This is a reasonable size for a dragon's territory as well. Since dragons are larger, they need a large hunting territory to be supported without wiping out the local prey. However, dragons can also fly, which greatly enhances their ability to quickly and easily travel distances. It's therefore a reasonable conclusion that a given species of this class of dragons would have a territory ranging about half a day's flight radius out from the lair.