Guide to Dragons

Night Dragon

Name: Night Dragon (Draco noctis)
Element: Electric
Size: 8 - 10 feet (2.4384 - 3.048 meters) tall, 5 - 8 feet (1.524 - 2.4384 meters) long, 400 - 500 pounds (181.437 - 226.796 kilograms)
Diet: Any animal that can be ambushed at night
Habitat: Grasslands

Description:

This dragon is surely an oddity. It's known as the only dragon to walk upright. And that's not because it walks on two legs; lots of dragons do that.

The only reason the Night Dragon has this title is because when it stands, it's back is a steep slope. Whereas other dragons' backs are arranged in a slant, or more so of one, the Night Dragon lacks this.

Perhaps it's evolved like this so it can appear more intimidating than it really is. Hey, if you're enemy is taller than you, it does make you pause.

Another famous aspect of this dragon is its retractable back spikes. Well, the spikes don't fully retract, but the Night Dragon can decide how far out it wants them to be. If you pulled out one of these spikes, it would be about 6-8 inches (15.24-20.32 centimeters) long. The main purpose of these spikes is to prevent attack from behind and/or the sky.

Like its name suggests, this dragon is nocturnal. As such, it only will attack sleeping animals, or sometimes will go after smaller prey, like rodents and birds.

It's supposed that this dragon has excellent night vision, but is virtually colorblind. Which is why it tends to be shy during the day.

Night Dragons mate twice a year, both times in summer, only weeks away from each other. This produces up to as many as twelve eggs.

This is one of the only dragon species known to have males fight over females. Maybe this is because of their mainly solitary lives? Males tend to live alone, but females will often form packs. As such, males are typically aggressive to other males.

After mating, the male(s) (there can be two different males per female, because of the two times they breed) leave the female alone to raise the chicks. And the mother is really not the best parent.

To us, (to put it in human terms) it seems that the mother thinks as long as she provides food, the chicks will be ok. So that's exactly what she does. She'll hunt for them and bring the young food, but that's it. If they bother her, they even have risk of being attacked.

The chicks leave their mother at about eight months old, and go off to learn about their world in a clutch. Once they reach a year old, they go their separate ways.

Night Dragons are shy during the day, but if you're out at night, be warned that they are fiercely territorial.

Even though they have arms, they will usually attack with their mouth. Or maybe with a well-aimed blow from their tail.

If you have somehow managed to find yourself on a Night Dragon's territory, leave. The best option is not make eye contact and head the other way (away from the growling dragon) and to safety. If they don't see you as a threat, they should leave you alone.

Did I ever mention that they're highly unpredictable?