Re: T Rex scavenging myth

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.ATTGIS.COM>]

 From: Pterodon@aol.com
 > 
 > Among large animals, thermal air-current fliers like vultures and storks are
 > successful scavengers. They expend very little energy covering enormous
 > distances in search of prey. No large ground-dwelling animal makes a living
 > exclusively on scavenging carcasses because such an animal would expend too
 > much energy in an effort to locate the occasional carcass.

This has long been my main reason for rejecting the idea of a
primarily scavenging T. rex.

Now Quetzalcoatlus is another matter entirely!
With its long wingspan, and giant size, it seems closer to
a condor than to any other animal I can think of. [And, for
those of you who do not know this, a condor is simply an
extremely large vulture].

 >    I suspect all large saurian predators were opportunists, just as large
 > cats are today.

Large cats, wolves, hyaenas, coyotes, and just about every other
medium to large preadator you care to name,

 > and kicking. 

With T. rex's hind legs, I think this may well be quite important.

 >    I'm solidly on the side of active predation AND scavenging. I guess I
 > trust my turkey in the backyard too much to view this question any other way.

Of course I just call such an animal a predator, since opportunistic
scavenging the the *norm* in large predators, and is not a sufficient
indicator to justify a different term.

swf@elsegundoca.ncr.com         sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.