I have a Theory Number three

Rubecula

Most people tend to look back on Dinosaurs through rose tinted specs.

For example how would you answer the question ....

"If they were around today I would like an XXX as a house pet"

Or

"I think the XXX looks like it could be a good animal on a farm"

To me it would be just as appropriate to have a Komodo dragon in your living room..... but probably much less wise.

Adam Khor

Rubecula wrote: »

Most people tend to look back on Dinosaurs through rose tinted specs.

To be fair, most people tend to look at most animals through rose tinted specs. Dogs are actually very dangerous, statistically, if only because they coexist with humans more than other animals and thus attacks are more frequent. Still, they're strong animals with a nasty bite and they HAVE killed and even eaten people many times, yet everyone thinks they're cute.

People love dolphins, despite the fact that they've been known to sexually harass humans and kill other sea mammals for fun. They also happen to be monstrously powerful- a bottlenose dolphin is stronger than a silverback gorilla, according to some. There's even a case of a dolphin killing a man although it was seemingly a provoked attack.

And it wasn´t until recently that chimpanzees and hippos became widely known as extremely dangerous creatures- before that they too were considered "cute" or "funny".

Cows, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys etc, they've all killed plenty of people, so really, I don´t think a similarly sized dinosaur would be "better" or "worse" than any modern day farm animals. I bet even the "harmless" dinos and those without obvious weapons- hyspilophodonts, ornithomimosaurs, etc- could inflict serious harm if annoyed.

Rubecula wrote: »

For example how would you answer the question ....
"If they were around today I would like an XXX as a house pet"

A Quetzalcoatlus/Hatzegopteryx would be cool to ride :B But it doesn´t fit inside my house

Rubecula wrote: »

To me it would be just as appropriate to have a Komodo dragon in your living room..... but probably much less wise.

And yet Komodo dragons, once accustomed to humans, become surprisingly docile, even learning their names and responding to simple commands (as long as they are properly motivated). Like a dog or a cat.

I guess without knowing more about dinosaur psychology/behavior it would be difficult to predict how dangerous it would be to keep one- and I'm sure there was huge variation between the different species and even individuals.

Just remember, some people have lived their entire lives with bears and crocodiles without being mauled- and other people have been killed by swans and beavers.
You just never know what you're gonna get.

Capt'n Midnight

Dino's might be better on the farm since if they weren't as warm blooded since they'd need less food to grow.

and you'd get amazing leather

They'd be great for laying eggs, but you wouldn't get much milk out of one.

Adam Khor

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Dino's might be better on the farm since if they weren't as warm blooded since they'd need less food to grow.

Except they probably wouldn´t be adapted to modern day vegetation (most plants dinosaurs fed upon are either rare, very geographically restricted, or extinct nowadays...), so you would have to plant lots of prehistoric trees to keep your dinos happy. Sheep and the like are a lot less problematic in that regard. (But they don´t lay eggs :B)

Also, are we really sure dinos didn´t need as much food as mammals? I mean, they had huge guts- they even modified their pubic bone to accommodate longer intestines (below). Yeah I know, food quality and all that, but still, this doesn´t look like a very meager eater...

Capt'n Midnight

Adam Khor wrote: »

Also, are we really sure dinos didn´t need as much food as mammals? I mean, they had huge guts- they even modified their pubic bone to accommodate longer intestines (below). Yeah I know, food quality and all that, but still, this doesn´t look like a very meager eater.

Crocs and snakes can eat a large % of their body weight.

how big are the stomachs of tortoises and iguanas ?

for mammals big guts imply poor quality food, look at elephants / sloths / koalas

Rubecula

mind you snakes and crocs are carnivores tortoises and iguanas are herbivores ... it all depends on what you eat in that scenario.