~ Dragons as social, terrestrial animals
~ Dragons as social, aerial predators
~ Dragons as solitary predators
~ Conclusion

This essay will explain the hunting methods that dragons may use; two viewpoints have been taken into consideration when approaching this essay. The first will address dragons hunting in groups, the second looks at dragons as solitary hunters with the Western dragon used as a model.

Dragons hunting as a social terrestrial group:
To understand what hunting methods a group of dragons may use, we must look at the physical attributes of the dragon to determine what kind of pack-hunting animal it resembles today. Because the dragon is an endothermic animal, (and generally a large one) just like mammals and birds, this narrows down the spectrum of pack-hunters it could resemble in behaviour to large mammals; most members of the family Canidae, or dogs, the hyenas, (family Hyaenidae) and the lion, (Panthera leo). (Although male sibling cheetahs, Acinonyx jubatus, sometimes form small packs called coalitions, it is not typical behaviour for the majority of cheetahs, so for the purposes of this essay, we will include as large mammalian pack hunters wild dogs, wolves [Canis lupus], hyenas and lions only.)

Between dogs, hyenas and lions, which group of animals would the dragon mimic closest in its hunting behaviour? To answer this question, we first need to take a look at each group and compare each group's physical attributes to those of the dragon.

Dogs, of which the wolf is the largest wild species, generally live in groups that can range in size dramatically. The wolf pack has on average about eight to twelve members, while the African Painted dog (Lycaon pictus) can live in packs of up to forty individuals, hunting twice a day. When moving off in search of prey, dogs mainly use their excellent olfactory powers to guide them to the prey. While dragons too would have an excellent sense of smell, their eyesight is famously their most exquisitely tuned sense. The chase in itself is reliant on the enormous stamina they possess; they have large lungs and heart to supply the necessary oxygen to the muscles. A dragon would also need a huge heart and lungs for the purpose of flight, which is extremely tiring. However, it is likely that dragons wouldn't have as great a stamina when running as opposed to flying, because the folded wings would add extra bulk, wind resistance, and stress on the body. A problem arises when you consider that most dog chases are run over large stretches. Maybe for convenience, dragons might employ an ambush technique to save themselves the added exertion. (Dogs occasionally use ambushing techniques, but it's not the usual scenario.)

The stamina of dogs is also helped by their light build. Here is where the dragon would differ from the dog, because dragons would probably have a highly muscular build. When the dogs catch their prey, their long narrow jaws are used to latch on to it. Their teeth are made more for a tearing action rather than to puncture, which would again differ from a dragon's teeth, which would be sharper and longer, the jaws stronger.

A dog's carnassial teeth are not as specialised for eating meat as those of a cat, reflecting the fact that dogs are not entirely carnivorous. The teeth of a hyena are even less specialised for meat, and are more geared for bone-cracking. Many people can't see dragons as being anything but true carnivores.

Hyenas hunt in roughly the same way as a dog. They are extremely successful hunters, and dispatch the prey quicker than dogs once it is caught. This may be due to their size (bigger than any dog) or their immensely powerful jaws. Dragons may have a build closer to a hyena than a dog, as hyenas have a heavier conformation, with the large jaws that dragons would possess also.

Hyenas are more closely related to cats than they are to dogs. The only cat that typically lives and hunts in groups is the lion. Cats are the most specialised mammalian meat-eaters, with teeth that function as scissors, rather than bone-crackers. They too have short, strong jaws like the hyena. Cat's teeth (and those of dragons) are designed for puncturing. The canine teeth are very long and sharp, and there is a gap (called a diastema) between the canine and incisor teeth to allow the canines to penetrate further into flesh unhindered.

The lion hunting method relies on speed rather than stamina. Cats are faster than dogs, but have comparatively smaller hearts and lungs, and so have less stamina. Here, dragons would differ, as explained previously, it would be necessary to have great stamina for flight. However, lions almost always ambush their prey, and this is directly related to their lack of stamina. Although they have fast acceleration and their top speed matches that of the prey, the prey can keep running for longer and so must be caught within a short time.

(Predatory animals such as cats and dogs get the speed required for running primarily by using the backbone as a spring. Their legs are nowhere near as long as those of horses, deer, and other prey animals, so the have to make up for this by flexing the spine enormously during running, which pushes the fore and hind feet further apart, lengthening the stride. Also, they have many more toes on each foot than the hoofed animals they chase, which also increases friction and slows them down. Cats and, hypothetically, dragons too, have more flexibility in their bodies than dogs and are generally faster. They also have shorter, more muscled limbs, so are able to spring off the mark faster, necessary in an ambush. As stated before, dogs use their qualities as long-distance athletes to catch prey.)

It is more probable that the dragon would use this technique, as its muscular conformation and large wings may make long chases difficult or impossible. The hunting team of dragons would set off together, keeping out of sight as much as possible. Unlike the dog-style of hunting, they would track their prey more through eyesight than scent. (Note: it is curious that lions rarely pay attention to wind direction when hunting; this may be due to their territory reeking of the cats anyway, which raises another interesting question; would dragons have a set territory or be nomadic?) As the dragons neared the prey, they would change formation into a semicircle to enclose the target. The dragons at one end of the circle would charge into the prey, which would run straight into the waiting animals. Because dragons are so powerful with fast reflexes, the prey would have little chance of escape. This is an efficient form of hunting, combining the stealth of a cat hunt with the strength in numbers of a dog hunt. In one hunt, a pride of lions was seen to kill seven wildebeest; which would be a fantastic boon for a group of dragons! As they have high energy demands, the more meat the better, and the more for each individual. The only problem is that after eating, dragons may be too full and sleepy to fly off if attacked, so are more vulnerable than usual. However, as dragons would probably be the top predator around, a group of them is unlikely to run into too much trouble (maybe only from neighbouring dragon groups?).

So, dragons probably utilised their speed and power in a hunt rather than their stamina. As flying animals, it makes sense to conserve as much energy as possible. But then, what if they were group aerial predators?

Dragons hunting in a group in the air:
Because dragons are flying animals, does this mean they would hunt in the air also? Aerial predators such as raptors usually catch smaller prey, because they generally have to fly off with it and a heavy carcass would be near impossible to carry. So dragons hunting in the air would likely hoist their kill off to a secluded spot. Scavengers that may steal the kill would be more likely to see the dragon if it was hovering in the sky than stalking on land, as it wouldn't be able to camouflage itself, and the very nature of aerial hunting means that it must be out in the open for at least a short time. Therefore there is a greater risk for aerial- hunting dragons of having their meal snatched (which is why they'd carry it away; which leads back to them hunting small, light animals).

On the other hand, if there were enough dragons to put up an effective defense, they may well hunt large animals as a team and eat where they kill. It probably depends on the size of the dragon and the size of its competitors. Since we have already discussed how a dragon group may hunt large prey on the ground, we'll focus here about dragon groups catching small animals. Because aerial hunters often kill small animals (in terms of relative size, not weight), each dragon in the group would likely have to kill its own animal.

When hunting in the air, the dragons would have to track their prey from a great height, so they cannot be spotted by the animals they target. It may however be seen by scavengers which generally have more acute vision than prey animals, plus the ability to see in 3-D. Because dragons are very intelligent animals, they may position themselves so that they are in front of the sun. This would make them hard to see against the glare.

After the dragons have chosen their targets, they would probably swiftly dive at once, each onto a different animal to heighten the surprise effect. The impact of a dragon's claws at such high speed may kill instantly, or at least stun. If any caught animals are still alive, the dragons may carry them back to the nest for the offspring to practice their hunting skills on, in much the same way as cheetahs do.

Dragons as solitary hunters:
Group hunting animals tend to have higher success rates than solitary hunting animals from the same family. Lions have a 33% success rate when hunting as a pride (a solitary lion has a 15% success rate, less than half that of a pride), though strictly solitary cats such as tigers, leopards, etc. have a 5-10% success rate. (An exception to this is the cheetah which catches its prey about 40% of the time and usually hunts by itself, but of course this may be to compensate the fact that its kills get stolen so often by stronger predators.) The highest success rate of all belongs to the African painted dog of South Africa, which kills in about 50- 70% of attempts. The difference here is that unlike many other dogs or lions, the size of the pack is directly related to killing success, the more animals, the better. In huge packs of 40 dogs, the success rate can soar up to 90%.

If dragons hunted alone, their physique suits them best to ambush hunting as explained earlier. Ambush hunters such as cats get their target in one in ten attempts. The hunting technique itself would be similar to what we have explored earlier, though the dragon may have to hunt smaller animals than group predators. It may also have to pay more attention to wind direction; because there is only one dragon in the territory instead of a whole group, there would probably be a lot less Draconic scent- markings around. After the animal has been caught, it may have to be dragged into cover, for as a solitary animal, the dragon would be much more prone to getting its kill stolen by packs of scavengers or opportunists. Once this is accomplished, the dragon has the leisure of eating from the carcass over the ensuing few days. If the dragon was to hunt in the air, it would use much the same tactics as a group of aerial dragons would use. It may even be more successful in this case, because one dragon would be easier to hide in the sky than a whole group of dragons.

Conclusion:
Would dragons hunt alone or together? The main animals the dragon resembles, dogs and cats, each have members of their families that go against the norm for the family. Lions are the exception in felines, hunting in a pride, whereas with typically pack- hunting canines, foxes hunt by themselves. Like the aforementioned mammals, it would probably differ between species of dragons, and the areas they habituate. In plains with a plethora of large herd animals, maybe groups of dragons would dominate the scene. In a heavily forested area, the prey is typically smaller, so individual dragons may be the best option. Also, co-ordination of a pack as an efficient unit would be much more difficult in this terrain, as there would be many obstacles such as trees, plants, etc, with visibility highly restricted. In a forested area it may also be unwise to hunt in the air, because prey would be harder to spot through the trees and harder to chase. This is not to say that a dragon couldn't sit in a tree and drop onto its target, a trick favoured by the Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) of South-East Asia and Borneo. On the whole, solitary aerial hunting may be a better option than hunting as a group in the air, for ease of hiding a single dragon in the air as opposed to many dragons.