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Post by bricabrach on Sept 20, 2018 0:16:06 GMT
This Parasaurolophus herd is in big trouble! Bereft of armor and weapons, these peaceful herbivores appear as lunch to any carnivore that happens by. Likely they can outrun a large theropod. Yet it looks like our hungry T. rex could easily pick out a victim, lunge and grab a quick meal. What sort of measures might the herd take to thwart such an attack?
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Post by HRH Queen Talira on Sept 20, 2018 5:23:06 GMT
I think we need to look at the way modern herding animals behave, as it can give us some ideas as to how dinosaurs may have behaved. Just living in a herd is a defence mechanism because there are multiple pairs of eyes to look out for danger.
When faced with a predator, the natural instinct is to run. There are two reasons why animals do this. The first, of course, is to try and escape the danger, but running away does something else: it exposes those who are sick, injured, too old or too young to keep up with the rest of the herd. These are the ones the predators will target. Also, rather than running in a straight line, some herding animals like antelope, may run with a more erratic movement, darting from side to side. This could momentarily confuse a predator, thus allowing the prey to escape.
I've got an experiment I'd like you to try out with some friends. One person acts as the "predator", one is the "prey" and one has a stop-watch. First, the "prey" runs in a straight line with the "predator" behind. Time how long it takes for the "prey" to be caught. On the second go, the "prey" runs with more erratic movements, darting around a lot. Does it take more or less time for the "prey" to be caught?
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