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I doubt that
tyrannosaurs would stay with their prey for that length
of time, but the attack-retreat-wait strategy does seem plausible. Going back to sharks, I find a look at the hunting strategies of the Great White is instructive when thinking about the larger theropods. The shark stalks along the sea-bottom, apparently identifying prey by a "search image". For larger prey like _Mirounga angustirostris_ (Northern Elephant Seal) the shark ascends vertically at high speed, striking the seal from behind & below tearing a massive chunk of flesh away leaving the seal bleeding to death at the surface. The shark returns to feed, sawing meat & blubber off the carcass & taking it to the bottom to swallow. With smaller prey (_Zalophus californianus_ - the Californian Sea Lion - or _Phoca vitulina_ - the Harbour Seal) the Great White again ascends vertically, but will swallow whole the smaller Harbour Seal & drag beneath the surface the sea-lion. I'd be interested to find out if this "bite'n'spit" strategy would be a viable predatory approach for something like _Tyrannosaurus rex_ or _Giganotosaurus_. I imagine smaller prey (_Ornithomimus_?) could be dispatched in the same way as the smaller pinnipeds - swallowed whole or crushed & torn to the ground - but surely with a Rex-sized bite taken out of the hindquarters, even an adult _Anatotitan_ would be a fairly quick kill? I agree - I advanced komodoensis as
an extreme example with respect to this strategy, but it's predatory
style still fits the model. As Tom points out, it comes down to a question
of relative dimensions of prey vs hardware of the predator - as regards T. rex
and other gigantic carnosaurs - the prey-vs-hardware differential is far less
than between a Komodo Dragon and an adult Water Buffalo and it seems unlikely
that anything much could have survived 15 days after sustaining a single serious
bite from an adult tyrannosaur. Nonetheless - the hit and back-off approach can
still apply and so minimise the risk of injury to the
predator.
______________________________________________________
Dr Stephen Wroe
HOMEPAGE - http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/staff/swroe/swroe.htm
Institute of Wildlife Research, School of Biological Sciences (AO8) University of Sydney NSW Australia 2006 Email: swroe@bio.usyd.edu.au; Email: thylacoleo@optusnet.com.au Ph. 02 9351 8764; Ph. 02 9702 6435 ______________________________________________________ |