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

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


-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Carr <[email protected]>
To: Dann Pigdon <[email protected]>
Cc: dinosaur-l <[email protected]>; Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. <[email protected]>
Sent: Sun, Sep 22, 2019 7:20 pm
Subject: Re: [dinosaur] Agressive behavior of the T. rex

Given that their brainpower is in the same ballpark, I suggest that extant crocodylians provide the best baseline for cutting the Gordian knot of tyrannosaurid intelligence and behavior; big salties and nilies are probably the best living analogues for tyrannosaurid aggression that we can actually observe. I wouldn't get within striking distance of either...
-TDC
On Sun, Sep 22, 2019 at 5:32 PM Dann Pigdon <[email protected]> wrote:


Few extant predators will pass up the chance of an easy meal, and they don't come much easier than a 
relatively small, slow and non-armoured primate. Although it could be argued that a human with the 
technological ability to travel through time might have other technological tricks up its sleave.

A more interesting question might be how far a large adult tyrannosaur would bother chasing a human-
sized prey item before deciding it wasn't worth the energy expenditure. I suspect the answer would be 
bad news for anyone other than a marathon runner.

--
Dann Pigdon

On Sat, Sep 21st, 2019 at 2:42 AM, Poekilopleuron <[email protected]> wrote:


> Just a short question - given the apparent aggressiveness of the Tyrannosaurus
> rex (adult individual), but also the fact, that human would be too small a
> prey for it - would it be perhaps "safe" for us to stand near it? In other
> words, if T. rex had a choice of attacking human some 20 yards away and a 
> subadult 1 tonne Edmontosaurus 100 yards away, which one would it choose? 
> Was there some size/mass limit for an animal, at which it would be not
> interesting as a prey item for an adult T. rex (or any other large theropod,
> for that matter)? Thank you in advance! Tom