That situation will still end in overpopulation, albeit at a slower rate than if all infants survived to adulthood. Are there any predators of dragons which could help keep the population down? Here are some thoughts:
- What size are the different dragon species? Could smaller ones be kept as pets?
- What do they eat? Assuming sea serpents and leviathans eat fish, although if they are very large then perhaps they could hunt whales etc. Are any of them herbivores/omnivores? If so you'll have to think about their dental arrangement.
- Do they only meet for breeding, or do some of them travel in packs, or herds? What is the collective noun for a group of dragons? Maybe the smaller ones stick together for protection.
- Are they all wild or are any kept in zoos or parks? Or pets, as said above.
- Are they hunted for food/ parts for traditional medicine/ sport?
Another way to keep the dragons from overpopulating is have the dragons have an equivalent to a rutting period
, only much more deadly. Maybe some of the older ones even let themselves be killed when they get too big (with dragons such as the Matron being notable exceptions). You could even add in Ulysses's question of humans hunting them and say that some hunt them to keep the population down if there's no natural predators to do so.
That said, I'm really liking what you got so far.
edited 22nd Jun '18 8:36:32 PM by ChaoticQueen
edited 22nd Jun '18 8:37:11 PM by ChaoticQueen
edited 22nd Jun '18 8:35:44 PM by ChaoticQueen