Daira

Daira
First appearance	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Latest appearance	Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
Variant(s) Fire Daira
Comparable Dark Lizalfos Dinolfos Gēru Lizalfos Zazack

Dairas are humanoid alligators. They have mohawk-like crests on their heads and wield hatchets. Their design heavily resembles that of Zazack, another humanoid alligator enemy with an apparent mohawk.

History

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Dairas appear in orange and red and start appearing midway through the game. Unlike most previous enemy attacks, Dairas' axes are not deflected by Link's shield, necessitating the Reflect magic. Orange ones attack in close range, while red ones are capable of throwing an endless supply of their axes from afar.

CD-i games

Link: The Faces of Evil

Dairas appear in orange, and may either run at Link or crouch in place, with both throwing axes. Defeating the running variety typically gives Link a red Ruby (worth one), and the crouching type a green Ruby (worth five), though the running type will also occasionally give a green one. Link's shield is capable of blocking their axes in this game. There is also a type known as the Fire Daira that lives in volcanic areas and drops a Firestone after it is defeated. Dairas initially appear prominently in Crater Cove, apparently having come from the crater until one of the inhabitants boarded the vent. They later appear in many other locations, such as Tokyu Lighthouse and Goronu. The monster Glutko seems to enjoy eating them, comparing the taste of a Koridian he had just eaten favorably to one.

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

Dairas appear in both the running and crouching variants. They are once again quite common, and appear especially in Sakado, likely as a method of obtaining Rubies.

Cadence of Hyrule

Dairas appear in yellow and again use axes to attack.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ダイラ Daira	Likely a corruption of ダイル (dairu/dile, from "crocodile")