A wolf being able to track down other humans or animals having my sences increased no more cold nights during the summer and ill keep the neighbors up with my howling all night as payback for last years all night Christmas part they had.
@lykopis: Wolves are cool and all, but I prefer the painted wolf,
Also known as the African Wild Dog. Unlike wolves they do not use intimidation tactics within their own pack they seem to be joyful and playful with all of them. Before they go out to hunt they all nip at each other and bark like a football team getting psyched up for a game. Also unlike wolves they take care of all their pack members and make sure that even the members that can't actually hunt (i.e. the sick and old) get food and they distribute it equally among the whole pack. They can afford to do this because an average pack pack size is 10-20 and often times larger and they are very much cooperative hunters even more so wolves and they are literally the most successful land mammal predators on the planet. The have an 80% success rate as to wolves being around 20-35%. They are also probably my favorite animal.
@vortex13: There is evidence that the extinct Dire Wolves cared for their packs in similar manner, and some(not many) reports of Grey Wolves doing this as well. Just saying.
@mrdecepticonleader: Ok, I used to have a bunch of references on my old computer, but it got a virus or something and locked up completely. I will try to get some of the same stuff.
As to the fire breathing, I think the best example to prove that it is possible is the Bombardier Beetle
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It naturally produces two volatile chemicals inside it's abdomen and, when threatened, pumps them both into a mixing chamber, where they react together and explode with some force. The resulting compound is caustic enough to cause minor burns to human skin. I believe that this proves that the idea of a large reptile producing fire is not unthinkable and actually quite possible.
The size is even easier to explain, as gigantic versions of modern animal skeletons have been found across the globe.
Also, given that organs are not commonly found in fossils, who's to say that some of them were not fire-breathers as well?
But how's something that big going to be able to fly?
Well, how does something this big fly? :-)
One of the most common theories is that the gas they produced for their fire also worked like a blimp, and helped support their weight in the air. Another one is that they had hollow bones and large wings, gliding more than flapping like large birds. Also, reptile muscles are more efficient than mammals, so pound for pound they are actually stronger. Personally, I think that both are plausible, but I don't believe that ALL dragons are fire-breathers, so I tend to lean more towards the second one being the most common.
Should have just settled for an animal that actually exists if I would have known that there would be all this discussion about weather a fantastical creature actually existed or not :P
@vortex13: There is evidence that the extinct Dire Wolves cared for their packs in similar manner, and some(not many) reports of Grey Wolves doing this as well. Just saying.
Caring for pack members is common throughout most pack animals, but the Painted Wolves are completely cooperative with each other and they do not have a set pack leader, and this is documented from ever research of different packs. They are somewhat unique in this respect especially with the lack of aggression to assert dominance over each other. That is one of the reasons they are one of my favorite animals. That and the fact that they are one of the most (if not the most) successful hunters in the animal kingdom directly coordinates with this cooperative dynamic within them. Even highly evolved primates have to use aggression over each other to assert dominance, obviously I don't mean actual physical harm because that is rare in most cases instead it's pretty much all intimidation. There have also been reports of separate packs working together without conflict between them to bring down large prey. I just love that personally.
As for the Dire Wolves that is possible the problem though is that almost all hypothesis about on extinct animal behavior functioned is kind of conjecture since there is no actual observed documentation (obviously lol) of them. The best we can be hopefully accurate on is how they functioned biologically though that can lead to ideas of how they functioned with their environment. The way their descendents act can also lead to ideas, however it is always a best guess field.
@vortex13: Sorry I should have more specific when I mentioned the Dire Wolves. Some of the skeletons have been found with broken bones that he been healed. That is what I was talking about, as they would have died before the bones healed if they had not been fed and cared for. Sorry I just felt I had to stick up for the wolves( although I admit that the intimidation factor is part of my reason for choosing them :-) ).
I want to say wolf because wolves are my favorite animal. Plus, I can arguably be a wereworlf. However, that hyena post does make hyenas look cooler in my eyes.
At the same time, the opportunity to fly at will does sound tempting. I'd say dragon but I think the world would view me as a threat early on. I imagine they would do whatever they could to control me or destroy me.
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