Re: Triceratops defence

[Dann Pigdon <dannj@alphalink.com.au>]

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. wrote:
> 
> Among the defenses available would be:
> 
> [big snip]
>
> V) Hiding.  Hard to do when you are as big as an Indian elephant, but maybe...

Have you ever tried to find elephants in the wild? Well, no, I
haven't either, but for such large animals they can be extremely hard 
to spot in well wooded areas. Being quiet and well camoflauged can
go a long way towards making even very large animals difficult to
find. Elephant-grey seems to blend in very well with dead or dried
out acasia woodland, and the effect is increased by using local
mud or dust as a covering. Could a large ceratopian possibly roll
in mud? Or perhaps toss it over itself using its horns like some 
cervids do?

I've seen documentaries where elephants remained all but invisible just
metres away from the camera, until someone specifically points it
out, or it moves. And having few natural predators they aren't
really trying... :)

-- 
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        Dann Pigdon
        GIS Archaeologist
        Melbourne, Australia

        Australian Dinosaurs:
        http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/4459/
        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj
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