Re: Climbing Dromies

[Randy King <randyk@ims.com>]

At 10:10 AM 12/14/98 +0100, Martin Human wrote:
>The anatomy and physics of climbing dromies seems plausible, but what
>are they climbing around in trees _for_? They are fairly sizeable, well
>equipped carnivores, and presumably are so well-equipped to deal with
>prey that is inclined to put up a struggle, which I would assume would
>be rather risky in a tree. I also imagine anything up in a tree would be
>able to leap around, so the dromie would have to be able to outperform
>its prey to survive. Is this scenario then plausible?
>
>Can anyone identify a likely prey in this scenario? I am assuming that
>in order for such a climbing claw to evolve, the benefit of doing so
>must exist (ie there are very useful juicy food items up there if only
>they can be caught). If not, perhaps we should consider abandoning the
>idea.....
>
>Is there any similar-sized modern, tree climber actively hunting prey? I
>can only think of martens (there must be others but of the same size as
>a dromie?). Other species preying on tree-dwellers are snakes and
>eagles. What else? Ideas anyone?

I hate to promote theories that I don't like but here goes.  :)  It should
be available for comparisons anyway. 

Some cats climb trees to eat.  That is they take their food into a tree
to eat safely, or to store the food for later.  However, I don't think
this is a viable scenario for dromies.  

And someone asked about how lions get down from a tree.  I saw some footage
on National Geographic (I think) - head first.  But the tree didn't have a 
vertical trunk either.   

-Randy