Re: Great White Shark hunting techniques -Reply -Reply

[Scott Horton <HORTONS@EM.AGR.CA>]

>On sharks:  Most whales that live in similar environments as the great
>white are usually pretty big, reducing their chances of becoming a meal.
 
It should increase their chance of becoming a meal, though it decreases
their chance of perishing from it. The sharks could survive nibbling on the
whales like fleas nibbling on dogs, or like remoras on sharks. It seems
that to be a predator at the least risk, you either have to be almost as
large as your prey or very much smaller than it. A pack of deinonychus'
attacking a large hadrosaur would seem to me to be in a size range that
could be efficiently stomped on. The pack would suffer too many
casualties to survive very long, whereas Tyrannosaurus or vampiric :)
Archeopteryx's might prey successfully on the beast.

>On dinos:  Ever see a nature show on the Serengeti?  The wildebeast
>are considerably larger than the lions that persue them.  The problem
>with a pack going after a small animal is that each individual share of
>that animal is minimal at best.

That depends on how often they make a kill. A small kill every day will
feed a pack better than a large kill every week, as the meat will go rancid
after a couple of days.


>"Don't panic!"

I haven't yet.  ;)