Tyrannosaurus Rex- Hunter or Scavenger

Think about it, if T-rex was a pure scavenger, then there was nothing to keep the large plant-eaters in check. My analogy is what happened in Yellowstone with the wolves. When they were eliminated, the elk numbers skyrocketed. There was nothing to keep them in check. Same goes with Tyrannosaurus and say, Edmontosaurus. If T-rex did not hunt them and keep their numbers in check, who did? Nano T was too small and Dromaeosaurus to rare. Edmontosaurus and numerous other plant-eaters would have gone extinct due to overpopulation. Nature does not work that way. Things are balanced. T-rex was the only big carnivore in N. America at the time. Only T-rex could have kept the big plant-eaters in check and he could not have done that if he was just eating their dead bodies. Of course he would if he found one, but he also hunted.

Right, but utahraptors were a pretty populated species as well. And we've only discovered about 2% of dinosaur species. You make a valid point, And I agree with what was said, but as moderator, I need to bring up all the holes in an argument. There are some holes to that, so let's try to hash it out!

Utahraptor appeared in the early Cretaceous and died out about 90 million years ago give or take. Tyrannosaurus did not show up until 68-70 million years ago.

Utahraptor may have been big and common, but it was long gone by the time the first T-rex even showed up. Between Utahraptor's extinction and Tyrannosaurus' appearance, smaller tyrannosaurs ruled: Daspletosaurus, Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus, etc.

Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot Utahraptor was early Cretaceous

Me and my pre-teen head! I keep forgetting the most basic facts

Happens to the best of us. But you see my point right? Tyrannosaurus was the only really big carnivore at the time. There was a recurring theme in the dinosaur world. There were always 3 sizes of meat-eaters at one time. A lot of little ones, some medium sized ones, and one or two really big ones. That happened everywhere, every time, except late Cretaceous N. America. Then, there were only 2 sizes. Very small raptors, really big tyrannosaurs, and nothing in between. There were no more jobs for the medium sized meat-eaters, because, T-rex was basically eating everything. It shows why Nano T was so rare.

I see what u mean. Good point my friend. Although, there weren't really any medium sized carnivores in the Cretaceous, cause everything just got big.

Asia- Alectrosaurus, Auchilabator, etc Europe- Tarascosaurus, Neovenator, etc. Africa- Deltadromeus, Rugops, etc. S. America- Irrator, Aucosaurus, etc. Australia and Antarctica are excluded from this There seems to be a fair amount of medium sized carnivores during the Cretaceous. I consider medium to be 16-26 feet long and 1,000-5,000 lbs. The only medium sized carnivore from late Cretaceous N. America is Nano T and it was very rare. May even have been a young rex.

Ya, I was kinda vague there. I know there were a fair amount of mid sized dinosaurs, but there were plenty of large ones. And your right, that explains a lot with Nano T being so rare in North america

Yeah, I'm not arguing with ya. I'm just stating facts. Bottom line: Tyrannosaurus is a hunter who, like most predators, would not pass up a free meal. PS- They did find a family of Tyrannosaurus' in Montana. They mention it in the 2nd episode of Jurassic Fight Club. Rex's of different sizes and ages.

Retaliation to a past statement saying that there isn't any proof of rexes being pack hunters?

Kind of, yes.

Okay. Well, it was a good piece of info to bring up for sure!

Yeah, just thought someone ought to point it out.

I would probably say both as with most Predators I could hunt its Prey but it's much easier to just steal from Someone else. And who is gonna mess with the biggest, meanest dog?