Re: T-Rex a Scavenger?!?

[Strawberry Cowgirl <udscingl@lcac1.loras.edu>]

I think I will take this opportunity to introduce myself.  My name is
Claire Ingles, and I am a student at the University of Dubuque.  Some day,
I hope to become a paleontologist one day.  But for now, I must try and
survive the ordeals of undergrad study.  Anyway, just a thought, granted
it is movie physics and all, BBut  I thought  that the portrayl or T-rex
in Jurrassic Park was very well done and had a great idea.  Surprise and
ambush.  There may be the argument oof how such a huge beast could  sneak
up on anything, but there were many large beasts running around back
then, and the tromping around of the t-rex wouldn't make that much
difference with apatosauruses and such making larger noises.  That and
the foliage (obviously) was a good camaflage.  If anything has anything
else to add or contest please feel free to fill my e-mail box.  

Claire "strawberry" Ingles
senior in University hell.
    

On Mon, 28 Nov 1994, Snake wrote:

> Hi, all:
> 
> Anyone have any comments on this? I saw a Paleoworld episode recently
> in which Jack Horner asserts that he believes that T. Rex (and by
> association, all tyrannosaurids?) were not in fact predators, but
> instaed were essentially gigantic vultures...
> Now, several things hit me wrong about this:
> Why would he need all those teeth simply to pick at roadkill on
> the side of the Mesozoic freeway? Certainly, he could have got away
> with much smaller teeth and jaws. Nobody's gonna pick on a vulture
> that size...
> Horner apprently justifies his theory based on, among other things,
> that T.Rex has a capacity for a really sensitive nose, and so do
> vultures. Ergo, if vultures have sensitive noses, and they are
> scavengers, and T. Rex has a sensitive nose, then he must be a 
> scavenger. I know better than this from Philosophy 101.
> What other use for such a sensitive nose? Maybe to track prey?
> Like snakes, or any number of other predators.
> Also, he made the comment that T. Rex couldn't  be a predator,
> since he couldn't "see how they could catch anything." What are those
> huge legs for, then? To bend over more easily? From all that 
> power-walking to the next roadkill? 
> Now, most predators won't pass up a free meal when they're hard
> up for food, but that doesn't make them scavengers.
> By Horner's reasoning, Alligators aren't predators, either.
> Anyone care to support this claim, or offer more info?
> Thanks.
> 
> Sean (disillusioned at the thought of a 40 foot vulture...)
> |    Structural Dynamics Research Corporation    '79 AQHA           | 
> |    These opinions aren't SDRC's...  They may not even be MINE...  |
> =====================================================================
> 
>