Vulture of the Cretaceous was Re: Die Me, Dichotomy

[Richard W Travsky <rtravsky@uwyo.edu>]

On Thu, 31 Jul 2003, Tommy Bradley wrote:
> [...]
> ever been persuaded to the other side?  This seems like the
> Paleontological Civil War. Mr. Horner's research DID make me at least
> consider the possibility that the mighty T-rex was the vulture of the
> Cretaceous, but I am not fully willing to give up on thinking of it as
> a deadly, dangerous killing machine. Just my thoughts, Tommy Bradley

Could an animal the size of a rex make a living as a scavenger? It would
seem that it would take a lot for a meal. Granted, there was also some
pretty big prey out there, but what about territory? Several rexes (a
pack?) could make short work of a large carcass.

WHat is the ratio of sizes for scavengers (like a vulture) and your
average carcass and what can be supported from such a lifestyle?