Re: Flock Carnivores Discovered!

[Lars_Bergquist@public.se (Lars Bergquist)]

On 95-02-06 at 13.06, Tompaleo@aol.com wrote:

> In short my fellow dinophiles here is a reputed scavanger that has
> apparently learned to kill.

There seems to be some sort of conceptual fuzziness here. First, there is no
iron curtain dividing scavenging from hunting. Someone--I cannot remember
who--has characterised predators as "impatient carrion-feeders", i.e. they
give the dinner a friendly shove into oblivion instead of waiting for it to
die of
its own accord. Many predators, including raptors such as eagles, eat carrion
regularly (see my other posting tonight).

Both birds that we lazy humans characterise as raptors and such that we
contemptuously label scavengers will thus show up in considerable numbers
when a ready-made and served dinner presents itself. But that does not mean
that they *hunt* in a pack, i.e. cooperatively. For that, there has to be real
cooperative behavior, usually including some sort of division of function
between different individuals.

Regards
Lars Bergquist
lars_bergquist@public.se
(lexicographer--a harmless drudge according to Dr. Johnson, so bear
with me)

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