Re: [dinosaur] Agressive behavior of the T. rex

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

On Mon, Sep 23rd, 2019 at 9:48 AM, Gregory Paul <gsp1954@aol.com> wrote:

> A difference would be that big crocs are very familiar with humans and regard
> us as tasty, vulnerable shoreline meals. 

Even in areas where crocs have never encountered humans, we're likely still on 
the menu. Estuarine crocs 
here in Australia are opportunists that will attempt to eat just about anything 
within their accepted prey 
size range (which for a large croc is quite a wide range indeed). 

Even in areas where crocs live alongside humans, there's on average just one 
attack on humans per year 
in Australia, with a fatality roughly every three years. That's not nearly 
often enough for individual animals 
to learn that humans specifically are good to eat.

Things may be different for Nile crocs in Africa though, where successful 
attacks on humans are far more 
common.


> A theropod might find us perplexing
> and be less prone to attack, but if hungry might try a person out for
> palatability. Which would not be good.

It's been suggested that most attacks on humans by great white sharks are 
little more than exploratory 
bites by a curious creature. Usually they'll bite just once, realise we're not 
that palatable, and lose 
interest. Unfortunately for us, a single exploratory bite is often enough to 
cause a fatal injury. That would 
be even more true of a large theropod.

--
Dann Pigdon