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Re: could raptors climb trees




Mickey Rowe wrote:

>Yes, in fact (and I'm saying these things only to see if Stan will
>shoot them down :-) couldn't it be possible that a) the semi-lunate
>bone in the wrist of _Deinonychus_ would allow it more mobility in the
>hand in order to allow it to grab onto branches at odd angles and b)
>the "terrible claw" on the toe of _Deinonycchus_ and other theropods
>could have been used to grab onto tree trunks like the spikes in a
>telephone repairman's boots?  How difficult would it be to reconcile
>such a scenario with the orientation of the back-bone and tail as the
>animal(s) attempted to climb?

I think that's a great idea, especially the repair man's boots analogy.
A good friend of mine works for the power company and I have tried
those boots. While talking to John Fischner in front of his full-
sized velociraptor sculpture in Tucson, we concluded that a raptor 
could have gone right up a tree and probably get up as fast as just 
about anything. The problem would arise when trying to maneuver in 
the branches with a broomstick sticking out the butt :-) 
(ossified tendons- stiff tail)