Annual Dragon Report published
03-03-2021
Oliver Lesgringer
Dangerous Beasts and Muggle Affairs Reporter
The Dragon Observation Unit at Twygthain, Ireland has released its annual estimate of the known wild dragons in Britain and Ireland.
The authors of the report count 152 of the leviathan beasts, the figure unchanged from last year (see breakdown below). However the team led by Professor Randolph Gossalimack stressed that the estimate was just that.
"Eighty-five of the dragons counted are those asleep deep in caverns underground, and are included on the basis of attested observations by Creature Hunters over the past 30 years. We cannot be altogether certain that some of those dragons have not moved out of the British Isles or even died in their sleep as some dragons do. Therefore, we wish to stress that this figure of 152 is very much a guesstimate," said Professor Gossalimack.
Dragons can live for hundreds of years, with the oldest known dragon thought to be over 1,000 years old. Many sleep for years or decades at a time, in caverns that they block up after choosing their sleeping chamber, making an accurate headcount almost impossible.
However Professor Gossalimack and his team are confident that their figure of 152 is close to the real figure, though they have called for more Ministry funding to help with their work.
"We are the only major country not to have a full Dragon Research Unit," said Lindin Kaverstock, the only female member of the eight strong Twygthain team.
"The Ministry rightly points out that there are more dragons in other countries, but upgrading the Observation Unit to a Research centre would be a great benefit to dragon preservation efforts."
The Ministry's Beast and Spirit Division refused to be drawn on the latest remarks from its own observation unit, but has been adamant in the past that Britain and Ireland lacked sufficient numbers of stable feeding and dragon breeding grounds to warrant a full research unit.
"Researchers have the option to join large research units in Romania and Spain, as well as Norway, all of which the Ministry contributes to," reminded one official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Without guaranteed research funding the fate of the Dragon Observation Unit seems increasingly acrimonious and in doubt, especially after leading members of the wizarding community, including Adinamus Malfoy, accused the unit and the Ministry last year of promoting 'dragon tourism.'
The Ministry denied those allegations, but it is likely that the controversy will rumble on, with many like Messr Malfoy questioning just how far wizards should impinge on the lives of Magical Beasts.
"We are not Muggles," said Adinamus Malfoy to this reporter when asked to comment, "we do not place animals into cages and forget about them. We do not have zoos or circuses. It is an abhorrent Muggle idea, to make animals perform for us. The Ministry would do well to remember that. The dragons should not be counted and catalogued as if we wizards have rights to oversee them."
List of the known and suspected populations of the twelve dragon species native to Britain and Ireland
1. Common Welsh Green (42)
2. Hebridean Black (28)
3. Argrunt (25)
4. Nesrit (14)
5. Lesser Snowback (10; brown with white mottled back)
6. Greater Snowback (8)
7. Chiseltoothed Grey (7)
8. Rainbow Triddow (6; iridescent edges to top scales, otherwise black)
9. Orkney Short-Tooth (4)
10. Irish Three-Horned or Trihorn (4)
11. Silvermane or White Pendragon (3)
12. Silverwing or Great Cavith (1; largest dragon on the isles, has silver streaks on wings, dark bluish body)