This is for my watchers who are dragon enthusiasts. On the untouched world in my mind, where dragons evolved as a secondary offshoot of the dinosaur line (parallel evolution from birds), the plains dragon are omnivores that don't breathe fire or fly. They run in small (10-12) member herds (called "plates") until the females become gravid (pregnant) at which time they go to ground and chase the other members of their plate away. They stay with the young, which hatch comparatively ill adapted to life in a well organized plate, for up to three months, wherein the mother hunts and guards the young at turns. After this period of isolation, the mother has to fight her way back into the plate. If she succeeds, her offspring, two to four of them, are eagerly accepted and become communal children of the plate. At this stage, they begin to hunt for themselves, supplementing their kills with those of any plate member willing to share.

Anyway, this lady is in the beginning stage of her isolation period. The eggs should come within the next week.

Image and concept © 2009, J. Ehrenhaft.