matt writes...

what is more rare among gargoyles, a gargoyle giving birth to twins or a female gargoyle being able to lay more than 3 eggs in a lifetime?

matt writes...

besides the gargoyles and the garg beast had you thought of any other gargates that once existed or perhaps still exist? like what they looked like and stuff...

Siren writes...

On the eye color thing...
What biological and creative reason is it that females have red glowing eyes and males white?
I found this is a strange, but really cool thing on the show.

matt writes...

do baby gargs need to have diaper changes?

this question is a feeble attempt to find out if/how gargs go to the bathroom, sorry, couldn't resist!

Jacob writes...

Are gargoyles at day really heavier than at night? I ask this because I have no idea where the mass comes from when they are turning into stone. Do they pick up dust from the air during their petrifaction?

matt writes...

would a biologist or Sevarius or someone be able to tell a sleeping gargoyle from a regular stone gargoyle? i would guess so since gargs don't actually turn to stone. would they be able to clone a garg from a few flakes of the sleeping gargs skin?

Pyro X writes...

Greg;
Do Gargoyles suffer from diseases as we do?

Can a gargoyle get Polio? AIDS? Schistisomiasys? Meingitis?

Would the Dawn cure them of the disease, or would they die?

How does a gargoyle die? Sleep, Heart Attack, or from a disease?

Anonymous writes...

Why do the Ishimura gargoyles resemble the people of Japan?

Cotten writes...

Hey Greg,

By The Nine, you get asked alot of questions! Ok, this is a bit nerve racking here so let me think. Ok. What is the general life span of a gargoyle? As in how many years can they live if they aren't killed in battle?

Well, that's about all I can ask. Hope to see you again. It has been two years, right. Time for me is illrevelent.

Anonymous writes...

Did gargoyles originate from Asia? Afterall half of the eight clans originated there and in east Asia there is about three clans presently living there meaning that there might have been a large abundance of gargoyles clans living there and also the people in Ishimura don't fear the gargoyles meaning that gargoyles must have lived there quite along time for the humans to get use to them.

Scott Iskow writes...

1) Can gargoyles experience any of the sleep disorders defined by humans?

2) Does a gargoyle somehow feel (or otherwise notice) the difference between being unconscious during the night and being in stone hibernation during the day?

3) Can gargoyles oversleep or stay up past their bedtime?

Scott Iskow writes...

If a gargoyle took up smoking, would he or she experience health problems over time, or would the rejuvenating effects of the sun negate the damage?

Tomoyo writes...

I have read that the gargoyles are reptils, but Bronx is a gargoyle too. Bronx could be a reptil too, but, does this mean that Goliath, Demona, Brooklyn..., are from the same specie than Bronx?
The same if the humans are from the same specie than the dogs.

wingedbeast writes...

In response to your question about a gargoyle using some form of timetravel to poof into a daylight situation, you said that it was something of a pavlovian response. Does this mean that Gargoyles can, if they chose to exert however much effort it took to do this, change their sleepcycles or their sleepques?

matt writes...

in the London clan the feathered wings were the most common, and in the other clans the Goliath and Demona type wings were quite common, among the clans we've not see (Loch Ness, New Olympus, Xanadu, and Korea) are Lexington's wing type the most common? or are Desdemona's?

José Mº writes...

I have seen that the gargoyles when the sun go down are lives, and a little stone skin fall from their skin, are they more small??

matt writes...

warrioress's question reminded me of one i've been meaning to ask, i read somewhere that because of his smaller profile Lex and other gargoyles with similar wings can actually glide faster... any truth to this? i guess they should get an advantage cuz they can't really use their hands when gliding...

Josh Goldberg writes...

Can Demona get pregnant by a human at anytime? That is, is she fertile as a human at the same times as she is fertile as a gargoyle, or is she fertile like a regular human? What's Demona's fertility cycle as human and garg? (Garg's are only fertile every ten garg years, right?)

matt writes...

oh, and if i remember correctly, you said that March 21 was not only the Spring Equinox, and the possible hatch date for gargoyles, but its also your son's birthday, so, Happy Birthday Ben even though its belated by now... talk to you later!

Siren writes...

In the Gargoyles Universe, are there gargoyles without wings at all? Earthbound ones.

Jacob writes...

What happens to a gargoyle if he is at the north pole during the long night in the winter? does he sleep like humans?
Give a smart-ass answer if you want to, but I woud be pleased if you don't.

Angie I. writes...

Howdy, Greg! I'm not a regular visitor to this area, so I apolgize in advance if you've already been asked about this. I looked through the archived responses, but I might have missed something.

In the episode "Grief," Goliath mentioned that gargoyles age at half the speed of humans. Does that mean that a young gargoyle that has been alive for 20 years would only appear to be a 10 year old equivelant to a human child? Because if Jackel aged the Gargoyles for the same amount of years as he did Elisa, wouldn't they really have become half of what Jackel had intended? Aging 40 years ahead instead of 80? If it's true that they age at exactly half the rate of humans, I'm sure Angela would look worn and maybe a grey hair or two, but I doubt that she would look as near death as she did. Please clear this up for me. What is the exact rate that Gargoyles age when compared to humans?

Thank you. :)

Anonymous writes...

Where did gargoyle race orignate from? Asia? British Isles?

Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

Does the gargs have problems with tooth decay?

I'm asking this because I'm in the middle of a root canal treatment, and it HURTS!!!

Anonymous writes...

The Children of Oberon who are the gods of legends thus they must be the first race and they are made of pure magic. The gargoyles who are the second race have some magic in them since they can turn themselves and their equipment into stone. While humans who are the third race can't perform any feats of magic unless they have a spell book. So my question is the magic energy on the Earth diminishing?

Duncan Devlin writes...

In the Guatemala episode, Jackal carved his face into Goliath's in his dream. If a person were to do this to a Gargoyle and he woke up at dusk, what would happen?

matt writes...

so garg beasts reach adulthood by age 2, and live about as long as regular gargoyles? so, can they mate more often than regular gargoyles? i hope so cuz that could really save them from extinction given there are so few garg beasts left...

matt writes...

would Zafiro and Una's lack of claws on their feet cause them to have alot of trouble climbing walls/cliffs? if not, is it because gargoyles mainly use their arms when climbing a wall/cliff?

matt writes...

in response to "The One":

i've been thinking an awful lot about gargoyle genetics and biology lately and i have some theories, not ideas, personal theories.

in evolution, the weak do not survive to pass on genes, and the strong do. among other things this makes most beings of a species very similar in appearence, at least from outside that species. gargoyles are different obviously, even us humans can see major differences among them, like the ones you mentioned. the reason for this, i think, is because they have bypassed evolution by not raising their young individually, but communally. the strong gargs help in raising the weak gargs and vice versa, this means that strong and weak gargs make it to adulthood to have their own children, this also means that weaker traits arn't dying off and any physical mutations that occur are accepted and continue on. generally though, gargoyles are pretty similar if you look at bone structure or DNA, its like dogs, we've selectively breed them to look different or be able to do different things, but a Poodle is virtually identical to a St. Bernard in its DNA. the fact that gargoyles don't keep track of who's kid is who's also means that occasionally two cousin's or second cousin's will mate and this may cause mutations that further vary what the species looks like.

as for the rookery generations, as Greg as said, there are never actually biological brothers and sisters among a generation, the closest relation is cousins, i even did the math and found that an uncle and niece for instance can't be in the same generation. i have another personal theory that gargoyles, to prevent much inbreeding, biologically find gargoyles attractive that are very different looking from themselves. i know alot of people would say, "What about who they love?" and i agree, but don't we all have some biological prefrences?

i have no idea why the London gargs evolved the way they did, i'm anxious to see Greg's answer to that one...

ok, i'm done with my ramble, what do you think Greg?

The One writes...

1) How do you explain the vast genetic difference in the Gargoyle gene pool? e.g. demon like appearance of the scotish breed, a lower half of the body resembling a snake in the South American, animal-like appearances in the english.

2) Why is there a particular convergance of traits in the English gargoyles to resemble animals? It seems to serve no evolutionary purpose.

3) Since the Gargoyles don't keep track on who are their biological parents and given the nature of their isolated populations, it's highly likely that the Gargoyles have inbred over successive generations. (Even in clans they refer to each other as brother and sister) Do the Gargoyles have the same stigma on inbreding that the humans do? If so, how do they avoid it?

Patrica writes...

Heya, was reading through the Garg Science section, when I came upon this thought, correct anything I say if its wrong. First I'll state what I found, then I'll sum it up with what I came up with.

Females can conceive every 20 years. It takes 6 months for the eggs to develop and be layed. Then it takes 10 years for the eggs to hatch.

Going by this, there would be eggs hatching and eggs laid every ten years. So, in the rookery, every ten years, on the Equinox (I forgot spring or fall... most likely spring) there would be eggs hatching, AND eggs being laid.

So, basically, every 10 years, a different set of females would be conceiving. It'd go every-other-10-years.

Example: Female A conceives and lays an egg. Female B hatches from that egg, 10 years later. At this same time, Female C would lay an egg. 20 years later, Female B conceives and lays an egg. Females A and B are on the same cycle, while Female C is on a cycle set off by 10 years.

Or, to put it another way:
Female A lays an egg. Female B hatches 10 years later. Female A lays an egg 10 years later. Female B lays an egg 10 years later.

Basically: Mother and Daughter alternate on the 10 years. If Daughter has a child, then that child, Granddaughter, would be on the same cycle as Mother. If Granddaughter has a child, Great-Granddaughter would be on the same cycle as Daughter, and so on.

I just looked at how many times I tried to simplify what I was saying... a lot!

I hope I got whatever point I had across.

Here's a note: It's almost midnight here, so if things don't line up well, let me know :).

LSZ writes...

Do gargoyles need to bathe, or are body odours etc disposed of via stone sleep?

Pyro X writes...

Greg;
I am a little confused on Gargoyle Generations... let's see if this is correct.
Ex)
Hudson - Gen 1

Goliath/Demona Gen 2

Trio/Bronx Gen 3--|
| |- from same gen, but different hatching
Angela Gen 3------|

Samson (Is that his name?) Gen 4

1) Is this basically a correct assumption?
2) Does a Gargoyle ALWAYS find a mate in his hatching? IE) did all the Avalon Gargoyles pair off?
3) If the above is not true, then, would a Garoyle look to the next hatching, or would they be too young?

matt writes...

1. will Tom and/or Katherine live to see Gabriel, Opheila, and Boudikka and the other Avalon gargoyle's eggs hatch?
2. will the Avalon clan continue the naming of the hatchlings?
3. will they have a rookery or will they raise their eggs and hatchling's individually as humans do?

oh, and i was thinking about the Earth rythmn and its effects on gargs reproductive cycles on Avalon and i thought that maybe Avalon produces its own rythmn that may mimic or duplicate the rythmn of the Earth so that Opheila and the rest still lay eggs and hatch as if they were in the real world. afterall, from what evidence we've seen in the series and that you've given us, Avalon doesn't seem to be a place you can locate on Earth, just a theory...

matt writes...

you've said numerous times that Bronx mated and will mate again with Boidekka, but since Bronx was born a generation after the trio wouldn't he be way to young to mate? if the fertility cycle is different for beasts than can they mate and concieve more often in life than the standard gargoyles? i understand that Boidekka, being older than Bronx, is probably able to concieve, but Bronx just seems too young. does it matter that he is male, as in males can mate and concieve earlier in life than females?

matt writes...

i have a question about when a gargoyle wakes up. in many times throughout the series we would see the gargs' eyes glow shortly before they would shed their stone skin and that makes sense to me because you've said that at sunset their entire body reverts to flesh except a thin layer over their skin, their eyes probably don't have this layer since that would probably be kinda painful to have stone flying out of your eyes. so we see the eyes first because it doesn't have to break out of a stone shell. am i at least roughly correct on this?

Justin writes...

Greg,
A few weeks ago Anonymous writes
<Are there any female gargoyles who are obese? How about muscular or extremely skinny? Are any females bow-legged?
Are there gargoyles with differnent wing and ear types than the types that were shown on the series?
You know how some gargoyles have a sharp elbow or knee spike that juts out, I was wondering if any gargoyles have them on both knees and elbows because it was always on or the other.>

To which you replied...
<Obese? Not likely, but possible, I guess.

Look, it's all sounding possible.>

Now why is not likely for a gargoyle woman to be obese? Must all of them be fairly skinny like Demona? I don't know man, it seems like a sexist notion of what the female form is supposed to be! Sorry if offends you but with the gargoyles anatomy being similar on the surface, this might boys the neanderthal idea of what female beauty is supposed to be, and girls an impossible standard to live up to. Now don't get me wrong I love the show. Another thing that yerked me. You have mentioned that the original Broadway was going to be a girl. But you changed your minds out of fear of feminist groups being concerned about the evil/fat issue among the two female characters.

Now I would think that feminist groups with all sorts of "agendas" as you put it would love to see a none picture perfect woman in the series. Trust me having the two main female gargoyles in the series model thing didn't exactly endear the show to them I'm sure ;)

Sorry if this sounds like a rant. I just wanted your honest thought on what I've said.

Thank you

matt writes...

among the British gargs would a female gargoyle that has the lion genes still have the mane that Leo has? i would think she would because Leo is not a lion and while he looks like one probably shares very few of the same characteristics of a lion.
i've also noticed that Maggie the Cat has lion genes and is the only mutate with hair and i assume this is because of the animal she was mutated from but of course Leo wasn't created from a lion...

matt writes...

no offense to anyone who has posted stuff about gargs evolving from dinosaurs, but i think that it is extremelly unlikely that they did. only Greg and God could convince me that they are saurian descendants.
dinosaurs were all wiped out!!!! what does a garg evolve from? bones? and as for the triceratops head frill and the pterydactyl wings and whatever else, why would all these dinosaurs mate with each other anyway? for that matter, pterydactyls arn't even dinosaurs!
gargs are far more likely to be related to the platypus, the bat, or some other mammal, not dinosaurs.
sorry if i seem like i'm ranting, but for some reason the dinosaur connection just really bugs me...

Fire Storm writes...

On 02-01-2001, you anwsered a question by Anonymous.
He/She wrote: How long is a female gargoyles' gestation period?

You replied: Didn't I answer this already? Check the Gargoyle Science archive.

I checked the Science archive, and then the entire archive, and the closest you have said is "6 months to a year".

So I pose these questions to you:
Have you refined your anwser to this question?

If so, how long is the gestation period for gargoyle females? (The time span the female gargoyle carrys the egg before laying it, for those non-scientifically inclined people reading this.)

And, when gargoyle females do end up laying their eggs, do they lay them on the same night or just generally around the same time?

See you at G2K+1!

Shavri writes...

1. When gargoyles are hatched, do they have any teeth? I would hope they didn't have teeth, because if the females breast-fed the hatchlings, I'm sure it wouldn't have been a very pleasant ritual to have gone through if the little ones did. OUCH times 10!! And wouldn't it have been a bit difficult for the hatchlings with beaks to breast-feed?
2. How helpless are hatchlings when they're first born? Are they almost as helpless as human babies? What is the average age a gargoyle hatchling learns to walk; also, to glide? Oh, and at about what age do hatchlings learn to talk?

Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

I have some biological questions. Nothing too hard, I hope.

1-There are blood vessels in the gargoyle's wings membranes?

2-I know that Gargoyles are warm-blooded. Then, does they sweat? Or the wings are a natural radiator? (A lot of animals have them). And how about the beasts? (The dogs sweat by the tongue, you know?)

3-Some Gargs are furry, as Leo, Una & Griff. And about the non-furry Gargs, does them have any body hair? (And yes, I mean the Manhattan clan :-)

4-No, I will not ask if gargs go to the bathroom.

5-I don't know _why_ I'm asking this, but: does Gargs has nipples? They don't appear to have, but in "Leader of the Pack", Wolf rip his T-shirt and (I believe) he doesn't has also. S&P things?

6-At what age does the beasts become adults? In 1996 Bronx is biological 9 and Boudicca 20, and both look adults to me (they even mated).

7-A comment about the eggs; They hatch in ten years. Yes, It's a long time, but not too long: Some insects late 13 years to become adults. The eggs are slow, but they're not irreal.

Jim R. writes...

Would a gargoyle be any different in space than a human? Does their physiology differ that much from ours if they were to be sent into space? And do gargoyles have a lesser tolerance for gravity then us seeing how they are more like birds and bats that have wings? (I would think their skeletal structure would be hollower than that of a human so they could generate lift)

matt writes...

you've said numerous times that there are no aquatic or amphibious gargoyles, however in "Ill Met by Midnight" as Katherine, Goliath, and everyone are arriving at the castle at the beginning of the ep there is a Avalon clan garg shown that looks extremely aquatic. he has what looks to be gills, fins, fishy looking eyes, webbed appendages, and on top of everything else is a aquamarine hue. i just thought i'd mention it...

matt writes...

you told me once that the Mayan clan and any other clans native to the Americas migrated over the Bering Strait from Asia like humans did about 10,000 years ago. so, where did the gargoyle species evolve from? humans came from East Africa and spread out across the world, the gargs must have had a starting place too. what about the beasts, where did they evolve from?

Yttrium writes...

You'd mentioned in the archive that gargoyles may be capable of having twins, yet it would be extremely, extremely rare. My question is, if a gargoyle did have twins, would they be born from the same egg, or would two eggs be laid?

---Ytt

Aris Katsaris writes...

A question about rookery generations...

1. If the Wyvern massacre had not happened, would the Trio normally have been considered rookery parents to the eggs that would have hatched in 998? Or was the generation of the first rookery parents the one immediately older than them? (Goliath, Demona, ColdTrio, etc)

In short are rookery parents 40 or 60 years older than their first rookery children?

2. What if one of the gargoyles had mated really young (teen pregnancy) and contributed an egg by the time she was biologically 15? Ten years later would she *not* be considered a rookery mother even though she had biologically contributed an egg? Or would she be treated as an exception among her generation?

3. For that matter would Iago be considered a rookery father to the eggs simply because of his generation, even though he was mateless and hadn't contributed an egg himself? Or not?

Eric Daniels writes...

yes hi I was wondering if you could tell me why gargoyles satnd for on buildings and what are they? Are they god's creatures, like "angels" or are the devils creatures? if you could, could you email me at Danielse@gatorzone.com thank you for your time, Eric Daniels

Anonymous writes...

Are there any female gargoyles who are obese? How about muscular or extremely skinny? Are any females bow-legged?
Are there gargoyles with differnent wing and ear types than the types that were shown on the series?
You know how some gargoyles have a sharp elbow or knee spike that juts out, I was wondering if any gargoyles have them on both knees and elbows because it was always on or the other.

Anonymous writes...

Are there any female gargoyles with wings like Lex's, or male gargoyles with wings like Desdemona's?
Are there any female gargoyles who have a beak like Brooklyn's? Or an overbite like Lex and Broadway?
Save Una, most females I have seen look pretty similar, no offense.