Dragons. The word conjures up an image in our minds of an enormous lizard rearing back with its wings spread wide and shooting flames into the sky while an armour-clad knight charges it with his lance. Scenarios like this are almost certainly fictional, but the real existence of dragons has fascinated human society for centuries. While many would simply laugh, shake their heads, and dismiss the possibility, much evidence has been uncovered over the centuries that points to the true existence of these fearsome beasts of literature and cinema. Think of such beasts as dinosaurs and crocodiles. Is it so impossible that dragons once roamed this Earth as well? According to Merriam-Webster, an online dictionary, a dragon is "a mythical animal usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent." However, these "mythical" reptiles are not as fictional as many would assume. The best pieces of evidence pointing to their reality lay in evolution, fossils, mythology, world-wide recognition, and continued existence.

Evolution is the process in which different kinds of organisms develop from predecessors (Merriam-Webster). Every single creature alive on Earth has its origins in the Mesozoic Age, for without prehistoric animals, no other kind of life would have evolved. The end to the golden age of dinosaurs came when some unknown disaster or chain of evolution struck our planet, and most large beasts were wiped from its face. However, there were survivors. Crocodiles, lizards, rats, frogs, sharks and more all saw the Mesozoic era fall, and with it the huge land beasts known to us today as dinosaurs. Avian, or flying, reptiles also survived the destruction; if they had not, there would be no birds in the world today (AMNH). A "flying reptile" is essentially a summary of what a dragon is, is it not? With more than 18,000 bird species alive in the modern world, and all of them descended from those last flying dinosaurs, it is more than possible that at some point, reptilian birds stalked the Earth alongside humans. If someone wonders why scientists have not discovered such beasts by now, it should be pointed out to them that a new species is discovered every other day in the Amazon region alone (National Geographic). If we cannot successfully locate undebatedspecies, there is no reason for controversial species to be discovered with any more ease.

Discoveries have been made of dragon-like remains all over the world. Found embedded within rocks in such places as Solnhofen, Germany, fossils of pterosaurs have been excavated for study (AMNH). These imprints reveal leathery wings and wickedly curved claws identical to those depicted in ancient dragon artworks and literatures. "[Down] through the air swooped the dragon, with the moonlight shining on his scaly back, and lighting up the horns on his head and the cruel spikes on his wings" (Manning-Sanders 28). Since it is almost impossible to find a sound, intact pterosaur skeleton, one must wonder how the paintings and sculptures bear such a striking resemblance to beasts that lived 65 million years ago (PBS). After all, with the lack of fossil evidence to guide the imagination, such vivid recreations in art would not have been possible. The most logical answer to this historical dilemma is that some descendent of the avian dinosaurs lasted at least long enough to interact with civilizations of the past. Even today, fossils are being unearthed all over the world that bear incredible semblance to the dragons of myths and stories, rapidly decreasing the likelihood of a coincidence with each discovery.

There is barely anyone alive today who has never heard an old story about dragons. In such classics as Sister Lace, we find passages proclaiming, "The little red dragon swelled with indignation . . . and then, opening its mouth wide, it shot forth a ball of flames" (Doherty 52). Flame-spewing monsters rampage across the pages of literature world-wide, and not a culture on Earth exists that does not have dragons present in its lore. Some cultures have feathered dragons, such as the Aztec civilization, which ties in with the evolution of avian dinosaurs into birds. Other lands tell of scaly lizards with fiery breath and hardened scales, and this is the classic image of the mighty dragon today. In certain tales, such descriptions as those found in China describe transformations of men into scaly beasts. "[T]wo horns grew from his head, blue tentacles covered his mouth, and red shimmering scales encircled his neck . . . [h]is body had changed into that of a red dragon" (Feng 99). In the same manner of the woodland critters of fables, dragons are shown to speak with humans. "Said the dragon, 'Reap on'" (Manning-Sanders 9). Such fantastical weavings are not a point against dragon reality; many faery tales create images of humans morphing into beasts everyone is certain are real, including horses, cats, and bears. Story animals are almost always able to speak in human tongues. Faery tales and fables incorporate mystique and impossibility into their descriptions, even though most of them have their basis in fact, and they are not to be taken as solid history. The point to take from these faery tales and myths is that dragons were regarded in the same manner as other wild creatures. They are not described like the elves and giants of lore, which were said to possess a human form, but rather like the lions and eagles: ferocious, wild, and real, but with a story's flare of magic. This points to the fact that true dragons did indeed reside in the forests and plains of the past, and story-tellers positioned them within their weavings the same way they placed any other large predator of the era.

Dragons are in cultures everywhere. Tales from such distant lands as Japan, Russia, Australia, England, South Africa, Chile, Canada, and even Mexico tell of the famous beasts known to all as "dragons" (Dragons). With such a widespread area of recognition, it raises an interesting question. None of these civilizations had contact with one another at the time the tales were created. How is it possible, then, that people everywhere have stories of dragons? The only viable solution to the puzzle is the conclusion that each story is based upon something that existed long ago, something that was far more common in the ancient days. Hundreds of species have been driven to or to the brink of extinction as human civilization flourishes (Extinction Over Time). It is far from impossible that one of these species was the infamous dragon. Many animals exist on all six inhabited continents, including falcons, rats, wild cats, and rabbits. They all look different according to their environments, just as the depictions of dragons vary with each society's narratives. For example, the Arctic hare of Canada has long white fur and short, rounded ears, while the African hare possesses bulging eyes and long forelegs (AWF). Likewise, the dragons of Asia are most often shown as wingless creatures with long, lithe bodies as that of a snake and at least four legs, whereas the dragons of Europe are commonly giant lizards with horns, razor-sharp fangs, and cruel dispositions. Different adaptations of the same beast according to area suggests that dragons were indeed once real creatures of adaptation.

Dragons still exist today. Most people laugh at the very thought of this, but if they bothered to take a closer look at the facts, they would see how very wrong they are to do so. A dragon is most commonly referred to as a large reptilian predator with sharp teeth and unusual size, as shown in many myths and legends. The very description seems nigh impossible of an animal in the world today, but that is a blatant falsehood. Many reptiles of enormous size roam the world. The komodo dragon, for instance, can reach an astonishing 3.13 meters in length (Smithsonian's National Zoo). That's almost twice the height of an adult male! Saltwater crocodiles have been known to grow to more than 6 meters long and weigh about 450 kilograms, placing them at 3½ times the size of an average human and more than five times the average weight of one (National Geographic). Such beasts as these are modern dragons. They evolved from the Mesozoic age survivors: prehistoric crocodiles, avian reptiles, and other famous dinosaurs (AMNH). They certainly fit the descriptions of dragons offered to us by stories and lore, and through evolution, they have become the dangerous predators of the modern world: real-life dragons disregarded by unseeing eyes.

Critics of dragon existence may concede that monstrous reptiles clearly exist, but what about fire-breathing? Surely a monster shooting flames from its mouth is an impossibility, right? Wrong! First of all, not all dragons in stories could breathe fire. Many simply tore their prey to shreds with powerful jaws and brutal teeth. Secondly, dragons were by no means the only beasts in folklore to shoot forth flames from their roaring maws. Such predators as lions and bears were also often depicted as pyro-spewing terrors; the flames are just another figment of faery tale glossing. It is also a possibility that dragons were indeed possessed of some form of breathly weapon. Such acids as hydrochloric acid burn like fire and can disintegrate flesh and bones like dragon-fire is often said to have done (MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia). Defense mechanisms utilizing substances similar to this are common in many creatures today. Not even skeptics can deny the fact that the spitting cobra spews forth acid to blind its foes, nor can they disregard such creatures as the Indian red scorpion and the brown recluse spider, both of which possess deadly, venomous bites that burn and grow inflamed in a process visually similar to flame wounds (BrownRecluseSpider). The faery tales of fiery breath may have stemmed from a real naturally acidic or poisonous bite, which tale-tellers twisted and wove into the myths of smouldering weapons in the same manner they manipulate all facts to a fantastical extent.

Proof of the famed dragon's existence lies before everyone's eyes in evolution, fossils, mythology, world-wide recognition, and continued existence. A late descendent of the avian dinosaurs lived long enough to coexist with early humanoid life, earning itself a place in the classic mythology at the base of every society. Fossils of dragon-like monsters have been unearthed all over, and not a civilization on earth exists that does not tell of dragons in early times. Crocodiles and other enormous, deadly reptiles dominate the wild today, but despite this, the issue of dragon reality continues to remain in debate. The debate is pointless, for the facts do not align to show that dragons could not have existed. All the evidence proves that dragons not only could but indeed did exist. The Earth is a vastly unexplored place. New species are constantly being discovered, even though they have lived for millennia alongside the ignorant human society. For all the world knows, dragons are still out there, waiting to be found once again.

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