European Space Agency, 2015 May 05
My topics have been running into the "Stranger Than Fiction" category this month, which adds to the fun of Science, Space and Disasters.
Personally, I believe in Dragons, and think they are overall "good." It is our perception of beauty that causes some people to miss out on the unique creatures Dragons are.
As a little kid, when we would drive down to Tijuana, or through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, I could not help but to see the outlines of giant beings, covered gently in grass, trees and fields.
I would look up into the sky when we had really blue skies, and really white clouds, often with zero percent opacity, and find matching size creatures in the skies.
You could say that it was the product of an over imaginative youth, but considering the myths,stories and legends that speak of these very beings, how can they be dismissed out of hand?
ESA photograph all rights reserved (2015)
The myth of the Africas Dragon Mountains
Where are the Drakensberg Mountins located in South Africa?
africatheworldatlas.net/southafrica/southafrica-geographical-map.jpg
Drakensberg - Africas Dragon Mountains - The Secrets of Nature - YouTube
The weather systems at work on the Eastern side of the Cape can change abruptly bringing rain and cold. In Where the two oceans "really" meet* the following is a paragraph which gives a summary of life in the Drakenberg Mountains: *"The Drakensberg Mountains; located in South African side of the Cape Augulas, East of Cape Good Hope look barren from space, but down on the ground there is a unique and diverse population of mammals, raptors, birds, grasses, amphibians, weather patterns and more."
Pronghorns, Baboons and Vultures are keys in the eco-cycle of the Drakensberg Mountains.**
These two different oceans, the prevailing wind and the topography of South Africa combine to create lush forests and subtropical savanna on the east coast, gradually changing to desert or semi-desert on the west coast.
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Yes, my imagination runs wild. Sometimes I am still five years old in my heart. I believe in the inexplicable as well as the results from a well organized, and documented scientific experiment. Perhaps I have taken too many liberties with the Drakenberg (Dragon) Mountains, but who is to say that there were never Dragons about?
May this blog post be a reminder that all life forms and indigenous eco-systems are important in the way they run. When the cycles of life are interrupted it is Nature's way to acclimate to the changes. This is where deniers drop the coconut. When nature is set upon violently by man, she may not be able to recoup, and adapt. It is important that we show respect and care for our Ecosystem, because our lives depend upon it.
** The amazing diversity of life explained by Karssing, Rivers-Moore and Slater, in their oft cited paper; Influence of waterfalls on patterns of association between trout and Natal cascade frog Hadromophryne natalensis tadpoles in two headwater streams in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site, South Africa
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