Re: T-Rex a Scavenger?!? (fwd)

[@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu:murphy!acmcr!vr@uunet.uu.net (Vicki Rosenzweig)]

One other point to note, in regard to the hypothetical battle between
a hungry T. rex and a Triceratops, is that in living animals, the
prey species will often take more risks in a fight. It has to: if it
loses, it's dead, so it has no incentive to worry about any longer-term
risks. Conversely, the predator that loses a meal can go chase something
else down (or chase the vultures off a dead carcass), but being seriously
injured in the course of (successfully) killing its dinner can be fatal,
whether through infection or because it's too weak to hunt or even
scavenge effectively. If dinosaurs were similar in this regard, the
Triceratops wouldn't have to gore the T. rex: T. rex would be trying
hard to stay away from those sharp horns, even if it meant having someone
else for dinner.

Vicki Rosenzweig
vr%acmcr.uucp@murphy.com
New York, NY