Re: How would Tyrannosaurus approach a Triceratops?

[Eric Allen <erallen@yahoo.com>]

Well, someone else might argue the terminology, but I
would say "yes and no."

A strict "ambush" does not necessairly involve
stalking, but successful "stalking" will ultimately
result in what is essentially an ambush. 

--- don ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Well, maybe. Especially that part about the pointy
> end. But aren't "ambush" and "stalking" separate
> strategies?
> 
> --- Eric Allen <erallen@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> > Unfortunatly, fossil evidence of behavior is
> > essentially nil.
> > 
> > Therefore, all we can do in this scenerio is
> little
> > more than speculation.
> > 
> > That said, let's speculate:
> > 
> > What a Triceratops (or another ceretopsian) would
> do
> > when coming across a Tyrannosaur is probably the
> > more
> > difficult behavior to determine, as different
> > animals
> > react to predators in different ways.  It might
> run
> > away.  It might turn and charge.  It might turn to
> > face its aggressor, plant its feet, and stand its
> > ground trying to intimidate the Tyrannosaur.  Its
> > behavior very well might also depend on its social
> > behavior (weather it was a herding animal or not,
> > for
> > example) and if the unfortunate individual was
> near
> > its herd or seperated.
> > The scenerio I personally prefer is somewhere
> > between
> > the "run away" and "stand your ground" scenerio,
> but
> > there is no reason either of them are more
> favorable
> > than any other.
> > 
> > The way a Tyrannosaur might approach a Triceratops
> > might be a little easier to decern (but not much)
> > primarily bacause predatory animals seem to
> > generally
> > follow one particular rule:  ambush.  Why chase
> your
> > still healthy prey for long distances when you
> could
> > shorten your prey's run with a quick first strike.
> 
> > My
> > guess would be that a Tyrannosaur would sneak
> along
> > a
> > tree-line and stalk a Triceratops, then with a big
> > and
> > cuick lunge and quick dash forward, it would
> attack
> > from the side and behind, biting at the flanks and
> > back, using its jaws to crush the spine, pelvis,
> or
> > leg and pin the Triceratops in place.
> > Even if Tyrannosaurs were "pack hunters," my guess
> > would be that the killing blow would come from the
> > side and behind as the prey was flushed into the
> > trap
> > or worried to death by several "nips at its heels"
>  
> > 
> > The head-on charge where rex jaws grapple with
> trike
> > horns and frill seems just too...  
> > ...counterintuitive.  To borrow a phrase from
> human
> > armed conflict, "a frontal assault would be
> > suicide." 
> > When practically every predator alive today tries
> > its
> > best to avoid causing harm to itself when subduing
> > prey, attacking the pointy end just doesn't seem
> the
> > best choice.
> > 
> > Just my $0.02
> > 
> > Eric Allen
> > Ph.D. canidate
> > University of Iowa
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > --- Mike Lima <taradosgon@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > 
> > > Would Triceratops really have charged a
> > > Tyrannosaurus
> > > like a Rhinoceros as sometimes depicted or
> > > immediately
> > > formed a defensive circle around infants? If so
> > why
> > > and how would a Tyrannosaurus attack a
> Triceratops
> > > if
> > > even the sick and injured would be protected by
> > > others? Would a Triceratops have behaved more
> like
> > > African Buffalo do when they spot lions,
> initially
> > > running but turning and chasing the lions off
> > after
> > > the lions tire?
> > > 
> > > 
> > >           
> > >
> >
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