Do They Exist?

[Dragon Spirit]

It's the controversy of the ages: do the massive, fire-breathing dragons of legend really exist? Stories from ancient times have been passed down on many different continents of the world, but are they true?


I say yes/no. I can't say that they exist in the sense that everyone else defines "exist", but it would be a lie if I said that I didn't believe that they exist. It's hard for me to explain... It's like my brain tells me one thing, but my heart tells me otherwise - read my avatar's caption and my signature if you haven't already. But what do you think? To be or not to be: that is the question.

[bubblon]

Well... dinosaurs existed, but I doubt any fire breathing reptilian behemoth did. I think it's possible for a dinosaur that resembled a dragon could've existed, but it wasn't exactly identical to the ones portrayed in books and movies. First of all, no reptile, mammal, bird, or fish have six limbs. The only things that do are insects. That means that if dragons were to exist either they would be the only reptiles on earth to have six limbs (four legs, two wings) or they would have only two legs and two wings, which are present on some dinosaurs. It could've also looked like the asian dragon, but I personally think they look too similar to the Leviathan, a sea serpent. And as my ending statement, I think it's possible for the Leviathan to exist deep down in the oceans. Possible, but unlikely.

[Dragon Spirit]

I don't think it's totally impossible that A dinosaur could have evolve that had four legs and 2 wings. When people first saw a platypus skin, they thought it was a fake, because it just seemed ridiculous at the time. Who's to say that something as absurd sounding as a reptile with six limbs didn't exist at some point in time, or still exists to this day? Just because we have found nothing similar to it, doesn't mean it's not possible. Let's say that some really extreme animal wasn't believed to exist... say the elephant. If it was just a myth, people would say that there is nothing with a nose like that on earth, so it probably doesn't exist. I realize that's stretching the point a little bit, but still...

And I think it is even more possible that sea serpents exist, when talking in purely scientific terms, since the depths of the oceans are one of the most unexplored places on this planet. People thought that the giant squid was a legend for the longest time, but I believe there is proof now.

I guess the real point I'm trying to make is that it is extremely hard to prove things like dragons and sea serpents untrue., since you'd have to rule out every single possibility, and there are a lot of possibilities.

[bubblon]

Yeah, about the Elephant. We do have other animals to compare it know. There's the pig, the woolly mammoth, etc. And about the platypus; yes, it was unusual, but all the things it has that make it special are things that can be found in various types of animals. It's not the only animal to have a beak, fur, and poison. It's just the only that has all them all together. A six limbed dragon wouldn't share that trait with anything else in the world.

As for Leviathan, I never said I don't think it isn't real. I said I think it's possible that it could exist; same reason that you said about the vast oceans.

[Dragon Spirit]

I don't think that the pig is even distantly related to the elephant, except that they are both mammals. It's nose is way different from an elephant's nose. The closest relative to the elephant is the tapir (I think), and its nose isn't much longer than a pig's. And for that point I was trying to make, I'm assuming that there is absolutely no proof of any animal even remotely like it (such as the wooly mammoth). That was assuming that the elephant was a legendary creature.

But the platypus IS the only animal to have a beak, fur, AND poison, just like the dragon would be the only creature with rear legs, front legs, AND wings. Of course, six limbs is a lot more unlikely (from an evolutionary standpoint) than a platypus's traits, but yet again, I'm just making a point.

However, I think that (and this depends if you believe in life on other planets) it is even more possible for dragons to have evolved on other planets, or similar creatures to dragons. It would be hard for dragons to live unnoticed on this planet, except in the most secluded of areas (in which I believe they could be living). Perhaps, on a planet with less gravity, how they are built would make more sense (since it would be hard for something with that much weight to get off the ground here, unless you include the reasonings I put in the "how do they fly" topic). In other words, it is even more likely that they exist if you include the possibility of life on other planets.

[bubblon]

It's not the only animal to have a beak, fur, and poison. It's just the only that has all them all together.

You didn't read what I said carefully enough. It's not the only animal to have a beak; ducks have it too. It's not the only animal to have fur; dogs have fur too. And it's not the only animal to have poison; snakes have poison too. However it is the only animal to have all three together at the same time.

That is why it's possible to consider it to be logical before it's discovery, although highly unlikely. And when you bring up the entire universe for its place of origin, then theoretically any creature you can come up with is has a possibility to exist.

If a dragon actually lives here on earth at present times then these are how they could exist without having been detected by humans. (On a side note of the Giant Squid, we knew it was real for the longest time because of the carcases washing up on shore.) My first guess and what I believe to be the most logical, is that they live deep in rain forests. Not only that, but they are also smaller in size, about the same length of medium sized croc. Whether or not they have wings is up to debate (back to the limb thing). Another possibility is that they live deep in the oceans somehow retaining that specific dragon form. If not then I wouldn't know whether or not to consider them dragons. The last and least probable possibility is that they live deep in an expansive cave. A cave so huge that it has its own ecosystem filled with plants and animals which the dragon would hunt. There are some plants that can grow without sun light, but they're mostly moss and other small things that give off very little oxygen. Assuming that a dragon does live in a cave on earth, then it is likely to have devolved its eyesights into being blind. As a reminder, this last paragraph is giving logical possibilities as to how dragons could exist on Earth right now without being discovered by man.

I seriously want to hear any other logical possibilities other may have, but before saying anything you have to consider that dragon's diet, shelter, and how it hasn't been discovered by anyone thus far.

[Dragon Spirit]

Sorry, I guess I didn't read what you had to say carefully enough. Forgot about that part when I was posting.

And I think we both agree that there is a possibility that they exist, somewhere in the world, but that the possibility isn't huge. Another possibility are the arctic regions - with the lack of much human exploration, the extreme cold, and blizzards, the possibilty of dragons living there still exists. But they would probably not be reptilian there. Vast desserts (like the Sahara) would be another possibility. Any place that does not have much human habitation I consider to be an area of consideration, including the places you mentioned.

In those places, I don't think a dragon (depending on its adaptations) would have much trouble with food, shelter, etc. Also, don't you think that if someone did see a dragon, chances are he/she would be put off as insane, and his/her report would go unrecognized? Especially if it was someone who was in one of those extreme places, where the "hallucination" could be blamed on heat stroke/shapes in a blizzard/etc.

But yeah, back to what I was trying to say... We both think the possibility exists. But I think they do exist and you (judging by your first post) don't. It's just a matter of perspective, really.

[bubblon]

At first I was skeptical about them living in the arctic, but then I realized that their food source could come from fish under the ice. It would also make sense for them to have a massive body to store fat with. As for deserts, I find that highly unlikely. Food and water would be too scarce, and in order to survive out there, they would be really small. The largest size I can imagine one would be slightly larger than a big wolf, which I doubt is. My guess if they lived in a desert would be about the size of bunny rabbit.

For evidence, we don't have a single to look at that came from a dragon. Most creatures do: foot prints (although they can be fake), fangs, carcases, or even feces.

I don't believe they exist on Earth, but I will say it is impossible to live somewhere and go undetected for so long. And on a side note, I'd like to make sure you know that I really do love dragons, and I would like to see one that was real that didn't go by my logical standards, which was able to breath fire, fly (and have six limbs), and communicate with us, but I'm trying to be realistic here.