Zoology
Here be
dragons
Nature volume520, pages42–43 (02
April 2015) | Download Citation
Emerging
evidence indicates that dragons can no longer be dismissed as creatures of
legend and fantasy, and that anthropogenic effects on the world's climate may
inadvertently be paving the way for the resurgence of these
beasts.
Long
considered to be the stuff of legend, dragons cross cultures and continents.
Until recently, however, scant attention had been paid to the fact that the
commonality in cultural representations of such creatures indicates something
more sinister. From depictions in Ancient Greek literature and Slavic myth, to
the dragons of the East or allusions in Zoroastrian scripture, the descriptions
resonate. What if these legends were rooted in truth? The differences in
appearance — some lack wings, some have multiple heads and some seem not to
breathe fire — once thought to reflect local traditions, can also readily be
explained by speciation.
The
800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta in 1215 has sparked an
unprecedented investigation of literary resources from the early medieval
period. One such document, uncovered by chance under a pile of rusty
candlesticks in a locked cupboard marked “loste propertie” in the depths of the
University of Oxford's Bodleian Library, provides strong evidence that the field
of fantastical beasts requires urgent re-evaluation. Attributed to the monk
Godfrey of Exmouth, the treatise discusses many verified aspects of English
history but, crucially, proffers evidence that for millennia dragons have
periodically been a scourge to civilizations (Fig. 1).
Further
work has revealed that the early medieval period was a veritable paradise for
dragons. This can be attributed to the period's unusually warm temperatures
(Fig.
2)
and an abundance of knights, the beasts' favourite combatant and food. It was
also a time when wealth and status were measured in terms of gold and silver —
the preferred nesting material for Western dragons. As a result, the major needs
for living, feeding and, crucially, relaxation were readily available to
dragons, allowing populations to flourish. The roasting of flesh and the
indiscriminate demolition of hovels and castles became commonplace.
It
would have been expected that humanity's ignorance of the dragon situation would
have been maintained were it not for a combination of events in the past few
decades. First, the global economic downturn has led to a rise in the search for
'buried' treasure, and hoards that serve as homes to resting dragons are an
ideal way to bolster a failing economic policy. This strategy of 'quantitative
thieving' is highly likely to provoke reprisals from slumbering dragons who
awake to discover that their nests have been stripped
bare.
To
make matters worse, it seems that the 'block' on human awareness is occasionally
failing, as evidenced in 1976 when a scientist (ironically, a knight and baron)
published a non-fiction manuscript on dragons in Nature3.
Sluggish action on global warming is set to compound the problem, and policies
such as the restoration of knighthoods in Australia are likely to exacerbate the
predicament yet further by providing a sustained and delicious food supply. It
is now only a matter of time before The Third Stir takes place, and this, to
borrow a phrase from Godfrey of Exmouth, will be the “bigge one”. Climatic
conditions are rapidly reaching an optimum for breeding dragons, and it is only
a matter of time before the neurotransfer spell loses its efficacy completely.
Further research into fireproof protective clothing is highly recommended — as
is an avoidance of honorific titles.
This
is an extract. Read full article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/520042a#auth-3
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