Do dragons raise their young?

[Frosty Nerd 833]

Whenever Spike encounters an adult dragon, the dragon tries to kill or scorch him. Do dragons attack their own offspring, or do they not raise their offspring. Do they just lay their eggs somewhere and leave forever like lizards do? Or maybe they don't attack their own offspring, just baby dragons that are not their own.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I think that they protect  their own young, but they don't care about any other young dragons.

Edited May 28, 2014 by SCS
Fixed tags.

[Nulln 755]

I would think they protect their own offspring, since the dragons seemed to be okay together when spike went to see the dragons.  They probably just don't take kindly to outsiders.

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 834]

The dragons probably lay their eggs in a mountain or something and leave them there like turtles.

[pony.colin 156]

The dragons probably lay their eggs in a mountain or something and leave them there like turtles.

 

No, they leave them lying randomly in the middle of the road so that alicorn princesses can randomly come pick up said eggs so that they can use them as experimental test objects for school entry exams for young gifted unicorns. Realistic, no?

 

 

OT:

 

 

Whenever Spike encounters an adult dragon, the dragon tries to kill or scorch him. Do dragons attack their own offspring, or do they not raise their offspring. Do they just lay their eggs somewhere and leave forever like lizards do? Or maybe they don't attack their own offspring, just baby dragons that are not their own.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I think that they protect  their own young, but they don't care about any other young dragons.

 

Nah, I would just chalk that up to the writers kind of making the dragons (from Dragon Quest) act like typical young boys before adolescence.  That tendency for boys to sort of beat on each other, because that's how they typically bully each other at that child age.  Mixed in with initiation rituals.   Would have been more interesting to see what the female dragons were like.

 

I figure they do the same basic motherly nurturing instinct as mammals but then again, I don't know about how reptiles treat their young.  Most species of animals have the basic instinct to protect their offspring at birth (where's a zoologists when I need one).

Edited May 28, 2014 by pony.colin

[TalonIceblade 13]

as far as dragons of MLP i dont know but the dragons of myth are all very maternal and stay by the egg the entire time and the parents heat and cool the egg to determine gender (male for hot and female for cold) at least as far as classic european dragons are concerned which is what the show seems to use

[Aurelion Star 434]

well I agree with Talonlceblade
very difficult name to say but anyway the dragons stick with there offspring until there child grows and become a mature dragon or another term when they can protect themselves from other dragon especially on mating season
they have to battle when they have a rival.. 
the battle is to the death pretty awesome right?????? 

[TalonIceblade 13]

i was honestly surprised to see the dragon during nightmare moons episode with the mustache was different then seeing that he is apparently the only dragon of a different species (i am assuming it is a lung of some sort as it was snake like and lived in water)

[Malinter 3,064]

they probably raise them but if spike is any indication, they can look after themselves to a certain degree at a very young age.

i was honestly surprised to see the dragon during nightmare moons episode with the mustache was different then seeing that he is apparently the only dragon of a different species (i am assuming it is a lung of some sort as it was snake like and lived in water)

 Steve Magnet is a water serpent. Also i'm pretty sure Spike is actually a Drake, not a dragon, because he has no wings.

[Aurelion Star 434]

they probably raise them but if spike is any indication, they can look after themselves to a certain degree at a very young age.

 Steve Magnet is a water serpent. Also i'm pretty sure Spike is actually a Drake, not a dragon, because he has no wings.

i second that explination

[UserNotFound 964]

Someone brings up a decent point... We haven't seen any female dragons in the show... I wonder how they would be represented

[Pastel 7,630]

Like every creatures in Equestria, I guess they do.

But I'm still waiting for an explanation about Spike's egg, how did the ponies get it?

[boiteporte 591]

More importantly, where are Spikes' real parents ?

[Pastel 7,630]

More importantly, where are Spikes' real parents ?

I really hope they'll make an appearance in the next seasons.

I guess they don't know where their son is.

[boiteporte 591]

So, this is a kidnapping right ?

 

Princess Celestia kidnapped a dragon egg for her school's entrance exam.

That looks a bit immoral to me....

[DokiLoki 519]

I think dragons in Equestria are like one of those animals that give birth to a baby, look after them for a week or so and then take off. Seems pretty much pointless to me but i guess they're just doing whats ''best'' for their children. 

Edited May 28, 2014 by DokiLoki

[Pastel 7,630]

So, this is a kidnapping right ?

 

Princess Celestia kidnapped a dragon egg for her school's entrance exam.

That looks a bit immoral to me....

I also came to this conclusion, but I hope they didn't do that.

[DokiLoki 519]

I also came to this conclusion, but I hope they didn't do that.

Maybe Spike was found as an egg in the middle of nowhere and was raised in a nursery in Canterlot.  Just my theory..

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

The examples we have of aggressive dragons were on their own and protecting a hoard, so I doubt that says too much regarding their habits for raising young. From the dragon migration I would assume that dragons raise their young communally, but allow freedom. The young are free too play and hunt and earn a few scratches, but if they were in serious danger I imagine the attacker would have a full flock of fire breathers to contend with. There isn't a strong family unit type bond as with many creatures, but dragons still care for their young.

 

Now that I think about it, the aggressive dragons may have been bachelors amassing a hoard to attract a mate, and the migration was going to the dragon breeding grounds. A dragon like Spike would probably stay close to his birth mother for the early years before joining the "teens", and Twilight fills this role as she is the one who hatched him. Like @Malinter said, Spike may be a different creature, so his background may not speak for dragons at all.

 

Random idea; there are different Pony races, why not different Dragon races, with Spike being the dragon equivalent of a Unicorn, explaining his magic fire, and the dragons of the migration being "Pegasi".

[deadprofile 1,122]

I think they do raise their young to an extent. They are most likely related to alligators and crocodiles in terms of IRL and dinosaurs and stuff....They raise them for a short time until they know the ropes and then let them go (well, crocs protect them until birth, put them in water and let them go, whereas gators care for them for a few years which is more unusual). I see dragons as in between, because some dragons are fliers and others are not. For those that fly, I can see more of a bird's rearing of their offspring more suiting, which coincides with alligator raising habits, but I am not sure for ground dragons (like Spike).

As for other dragons being extremely defensive, that's understandable. There are many animal and reptile species that kills another's offspring because it's competition. IRL males seem to be especially vicious to babies to of the same specie, and we assume the Dragon's Spike encountered were males. However, Take dragon Lore into consideration as well. The one dragon Spike himself encountered in the cave became aggressive because Spike was threatening his gem/jewel pile. Dragon mythos does not include sharing and caring, but independence and competition which is present throughout most cultural lores of the world....

[toonbat 28]

I think dragons are like ginormous cuckoos.  They lay their eggs in some other creature's nest so that other creatures have to deal with all the hassle.  In fact Garble was actually a female, and wanted to destroy the phoenix egg so she could lay another one in its place.

[Juniper Moon 11]

They probably do raise their young but only up to a certain point (who would want to look after a  teenage dragon?)  because it doesn't look like there is much socialization happening (that's for ponies), but do seem to recognize family ties (You know, Crackle's cousin).

Adult dragons appear to be solitary and extremely territorial, which is pretty much how they are portrayed in western culture. They don't want other dragons (or any thing else) messing with their stuff.  I think that would extend to another dragon's young, but they would  tolerate their own, if only to keep the bloodline going.

[pony.colin 156]

I really hope they'll make an appearance in the next seasons.

I guess they don't know where their son is.

 

 

So, this is a kidnapping right ?

 

Princess Celestia kidnapped a dragon egg for her school's entrance exam.

That looks a bit immoral to me....

 

 

Spike's origin story: egg left on side of road due to gross parenting negligence, found by alicorn princess who wanted to have an omelet that morning.  She couldn't crack said egg open so she threw it off to the Canterlot school board to try and find a gifted unicorn to crack said egg ... disappointment after when it was found out, it was a dragon egg, and non-refundable    

 

On a serious note:  I'd like the show to actually explore Spike's origin story a lot more.  Spike seems like the only dragon in pony society, so it seems like Celestia came across Spike by unusual means, since we don't see more dragons in pony society.

 

I have a couple of ideas on this,

 

1.  Paternal self-sacrifice:  Spike's parents might have had to give up Spike for safety reasons to Celestia.  Now this might be a special relationship because it would seem ponies don't engage with dragons at all (and Twilight said very little is known about dragons from pony society).  So maybe this could have been a special diplomatic exchange of some sort? or something.  It would have to be a highly trusted relationship for a dragon family to give up their unborn offspring like that, unless to avoid danger or something. 

 

2.  The egg that left the nest too early:  similar to what happened in dragon quest, with Peewee the phoenix having fallen out of his family's nest.  Spike's egg might have accidentally fallen out of his mother's nest and rolled off to a completely different region.  Celestia happens to find it by accident but doesn't know whom to return it to.  (Perhaps she was simply visiting the far off dragon lands and Spike's egg became a stowaway by accident on her entourage back).  

 

Spike's egg had to have been given up either, willingly, forcibly or accidentally to Celestia, because surely, Spike's mother would have been very parental and defensive to not give up it's offspring before being hatched. 

 

Until explained, Spike's origin of how he ended up Canterlot is still a vague mystery.

 

they probably raise them but if spike is any indication, they can look after themselves to a certain degree at a very young age.

 Steve Magnet is a water serpent. Also i'm pretty sure Spike is actually a Drake, not a dragon, because he has no wings.

 

Really? I always thought he was based off of Chinese dragons or some variant of Asian dragons, given his appearance and possible link to the water element.

 

Now where Spike sits in the dragon species I'm not so sure.  He's been the only dragon depicted so far without wings. 

[Frosty Nerd 833]

Steve Magnet is a water serpent. Also i'm pretty sure Spike is actually a Drake, not a dragon, because he has no wings.

Many Asian dragons don't have wings.

 

 

Spike is probably not old enough to take care of himself since the teenage dragons from "Dragon Quest" teased him about riding on his mommy's back in the migration.

More importantly, where are Spikes' real parents ?

Maybe Spike was an orphaned egg, and Celestia took him in. I doubt Celestia would go around stealing eggs. Spike's parents probably died.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Frosty Nerd

[Untitled Goose Q 5,138]

Speaking as a dragon, we do raise our young. The males help too, sometimes.

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

I like to think that the dragons have an innate ability to sense whether or not a baby dragon is their young or not, and revert to hostility whenever another baby dragon happens to come up to their young or seems hostile.

I don't know, it's hard to wrap your mind around.