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Dragons... part of the
imaginary world of Harry Potter...

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Breathing fire and turning enemies to stone.

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With spiky armour,
razor sharp claws... and wings.

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But do dragons really exist?

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Stand by - to enter the real dragons' lair

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There is a family of lizards
called the agamids.

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They live in some of the most
hostile places on earth...

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and look like the magical creatures
of myth and folklore...

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so much so, that they are better
known as the 'Dragon lizards.'

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But do these dragons live up to the legend?

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The dragon's mythical domain is fire...

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This is a bush fire in
Australia's Northern Territory...

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a terrifying force that
engulfs everything in its path...

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Animals flee before it...

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and birds of prey patrol the fire's edge

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looking for victims to pluck
from the burning embers.

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But amazingly, there is one animal
that thrives alongside this inferno

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The frilled dragon lizard.

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As the flames recede,

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frilled dragons appear, apparently
preferring the quickly cooling ground

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to the untouched forest just metres away.

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Although they don't breathe fire,
they are attracted to it.

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New research has shown that fire
provides an extra fertile hunting ground

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Surprising numbers of insects
can survive a forest fire,

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but with the vegetation burnt away,
they have nowhere to hide...

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... and are easily caught on the hop.

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Frilled dragons normally live in the trees.

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On the ground and in the open,

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they are dangerously exposed
and need to watch the sky.

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But it's a risk worth taking...

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here, amid the ashes with death all around,

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the dragons find a whole new lease of life.

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But now this one has caught a killer's eye...

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A kite... an expert scavenger,

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searching for the tiniest movement
below that might indicate food.

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The dragon instantly responds...
with a dramatic show of strength.

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It uses a complex network
of bones and muscles

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to erect flaps of skin around its neck

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that open like an umbrella and
make it look very ferocious.

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Relative to body size, this is the
largest display in the reptile world...

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but will it be enough to frighten off the kite?

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The giant ruff unnerves the kite

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and buys valuable time for the dragon...

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Before its enemy can circle for another pass,

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the dragon sprints for safety...

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and disappears into puffs of smoke.

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Like all cold-blooded reptiles,

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dragon lizards need the sun's heat
to warm up each morning.

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Bearded dragons have a special trick

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- they flush dark, to absorb
as much energy as possible.

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This male will bask

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until his body temperature is high
enough for him to become active.

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Now paler and fully alert,
he can set about finding a mate...

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and when he does track down a likely female,

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he'll try a unique approach to win her heart.

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The male takes a centre stage to
show her his spectacular dragon dance.

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She seems to like it - and joins in.

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Exactly what these arm waves and
head bobs mean is still a mystery.

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Some believe the arm waving
signals submission,

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and the bobbing head
means dominance.

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Whatever they are saying,

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it seems the dragon dance
has worked its magic...

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but the mood soon changes
once mating begins...

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The male mounts the female and bites down
hard on the skin around her neck...

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she may even run around in this position
with the male still on her back.

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It's a brief, one-off encounter,

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and afterwards the male skedaddles.

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The pair probably won't meet ever again.

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To find the ultimate flesh and blood dragon

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we must leave the Australian deserts
and visit a very different world бн

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бн the lush rainforests of the far east.

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Here there is a dragon lizard that is, perhaps,

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closer to the mythical winged beast
than any other...

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This is the Draco.

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The draco has given up life on the ground
to become truly at home in the trees.

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But the treetops have their own dangers...

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In the canopy there are eyes everywhere...

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бн the dracos need to be well camouflaged.

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Both male and female dracos
are extremely territorial.

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But how do they communicate
with one another

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without attracting unwanted attention
from their enemies?

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Semaphore... by flashing
tiny flags of colour at each other.

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Dracos do this by erecting patches
of loose skin around their throat.

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And for additional effect they
fan out extra folds along their sides.

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These split-second throat flashes are
intended only for the eyes of other dragons.

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But the butterfly effect
is not so short and sharp.

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So what do they use these flaps for and why?

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One answer comes from where they live.

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The jungle canopy may look close-packed,

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but actually the trees don't always touch.

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Huge spaces in between can
leave tree dwellers isolated.

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For the dracos,
trees are islands in the sky...

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and this can be a problem

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if they need to leave their
particular island in a hurry.

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Forest fires are surprisingly
common in the rainforest.

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Dracos trapped in a burning tree
could be doomed.

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The smoke and flames gradually
drive the dracos higher and higher.

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These dragons aren't drawn to fire.

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On the contrary, they've found
a way to leave it behind...

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They can fly!

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The flaps of skin the draco use for
signaling are also real dragon's wings.

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Technically speaking,
they don't actually fly

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- but they can glide 40 or 50m
from one treetop to another,

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through the smoke to safety.

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The draco is a real,
flesh and blood flying dragon.

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It has abilities as marvelous
as any from the pages of a book.

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If dragons had ever existed,

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they too would have had to use their
magical powers to solve the same problems

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- of finding food and water,
mating and escaping danger.

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So next time you're reading
stories of magical creatures

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soaring through the air
in far-off lands,

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remember, somewhere on this earth

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there is a place where
living dragons really do exist.

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