User:HankHawke/The one that got away

Speculation on the Natural History of Dragons in the Berk World

Introduction

Natural history is the systematic scientific study of any kind of natural object or organism. We will discuss the natural history of the dragons as portrayed in the feature film, “How to Train Your Dragon” by DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Dragons do not actually exist in the real world, but exist in any of several fictional worlds in short stories, novels, cartoons, TV shows and feature films. Many of these fictional worlds are alternate realities or parallel universes that differ from the real world in one major way--that dragons actually exist. The universe of the film “How to Train Your Dragon” is known as the world of Berk. Berk is the main human village of the movie that is populated by Vikings of the year 1010 [I-1].

The Berk world has some elements in common with the real world but with an altered time line. For example, Vikings exist in the real world and the Berk world but there are differences between them. The level of Viking technology of the Berk world is in advance of the level of Viking technology of the real world. This is a result of the 300-year long “war” between the dragons and the Vikings of Berk. The level of technology of the real world was greatly advanced by World War II and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Such is the case with the Vikings of Berk. Hundreds of years of fighting dragons have resulted in many technological advances including enormous catapults guarding the town of Berk, the dragon training arena hewn from rock and containing a series of cages and the blacksmith shop being an armaments factory producing conventional weapons such as swords and axes and unconventional weapons such as a bolas cannon.

Let us discuss the dragons of the Berk world with regard to their evolution, behavior and form. Let us first discuss their anatomy and physiology to see how the modern aquatic and land dragons are made up. The two main defining attributes of dragons are the abilities to fly and to breathe fire and these attributes will be discussed in detail. Next, let us discuss the evolution of the dragons and see how they survived the extinction event that eliminated most land dwelling creatures and how they evolved into their modern forms. Finally, we can consider their behavior by following them from courtship to nesting to rearing offspring.

The closest real creature to a dragon is the. ..

If I were not mistreated by all and sundry on this website, especially Manga Maniac, I might have provided all 17,000 words and 27 pages (title page, 24 pages of text and 2 pages of credits) of this document for you to view. This document would have answered many questions about the dragons of Berk, as: Why are Monstrous Nightmares orange red with black markings? Do those spines on its back have a real purpose or are they just for appearance? Why does it have those sickle-like claws? How does it protect its eyes when its body and head are enveloped in flame? How is “back gasp” prevented to protect the lungs?

I sent a copy of this to DreamWorks. Prior to that, I sent an advance letter introducing myself, suggesting a educational program be developed from the movie for grade levels 5-12, suggesting that the cult status of this movie be developed so it rivals “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” suggesting a suitable venue for test screening of sequels and advising them that a manila envelope containing this document and a sealed envelope with a sequel suggestion would be sent to them. Oh, I even put in a good word about this web site…or did I? Ha ha ha!

I am considering sending a copy of this to the scientific publication, “Nature.” Perhaps they will publish it in their April issue.

Here is the outline of my article.

Introduction

Anatomy and Physiology of Dragons

Aquatic Dragons

Appearance

Swimming and Neutral Buoyancy

Bioluminescence

Internal arrangement

Gills

Circulatory System

Digestive System

Fiery Breath

Eyes and Sensory Organs

Summary. So, there we have the aquatic dragons. They have sleek, even sensual shapes optimized for movement through their liquid home. They can live, hunt and breed from the ocean floor to the surface realm. In the eternal night of the deep, they communicate by bioluminescence and are bold enough to hunt the giant squid. They can effortlessly swim through the watery depths with sinuous movements of their bodies or hover in one place with precision movements of their flippers. These dragons are truly the masters of the ocean realm.

Land Dragons

Real World Bats

Appearance

Internal Arrangement

Digestive System

Flight

Fiery Breath

Vision and Hearing

Climatic Adaptation

Summary. Here are the land dwelling dragons that fly through the skies. They are a diverse group of species well adapted to live, hunt and breed any place on earth from the frozen arctic ice to the scorching desert sands. They can effortlessly soar through the skies buoyed up by hydrogen gas and propelled by their powerful wings while the Night Furys can navigate the jet stream over the earth. These dragons are truly the masters of the land and skies.

Evolution of Dragons

Return to the Land

Wings Develop

Adaptations for Flight

Sensory Organs

Dragon Adaptations

Bamboo Dragons

Forest Dragons

Polar Dragons

Desert Dragons

Summary. So, millions of years after the extinction event that eliminated the land dragons, the aquatic dragons have evolved to be land dwellers again. They have adapted to fill ecological niches from the arctic cold to the desert heat. They fill the sky from pole to pole. Once again, the land dwelling dragons are the masters of the skies.

The Life of the Dragons

Courtship and Nesting Area

Courtship

Gronckles

Deadly Nadders

Monstrous Nightmares

Terrible Terrors

Night Furys

Fish Ceremony

Nuptial Flight

Nesting

Lesser Dragons

Night Furys

References