Re: Tyrannosaurus "Scavenger vs. Predator" debate - Some questions for Dr. Jack Horner:

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

Phil Bigelow wrote:
> 
> I suspect that restraining the horns wasn't a very effective
> calorie-obtaining method for T. rex.  In the published case, the
> Triceratops apparently lived long enough after the attack to have its
> horn bones to partially heal.  The attack failed.  An "almost kill" won't
> fill a T. rex's belly.

We are assuming that it was the tyrannosaur that initiated the attack.
Amongst lions and cape buffalo, it is sometimes the buffalo that takes
the initiative and makes a 'pre-emptive strike'. If you've ever watched
'Big Cat Diaries', you'd have seen a small group of buffalo attack a
mother lion and her small cub, attempting to stamp the wee ones to death
(and actually killing one).

For all we know, the tyrannosaur may have been the innocent party,
simply attempting to parry an attack in desperation. In such a
situation, decisions based on calorific concerns go straight out the
window.

-- 
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Dann Pigdon                   Australian Dinosaurs:
GIS / Archaeologist         http://www.geocities.com/dannsdinosaurs
Melbourne, Australia        http://www.alphalink.com.au/~dannj/
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