If I were in the same time and place that t. rex lived, how would I not get eaten?
You might try evolving massive size and living in huge herds, or developing bony armour and a tail club, or even use large horns usually used in intraspecific interactions.
Okay so the important thing to know here is that Tyrannosaurus had an incredible sense of smell, and probably relied on its nose to find prey first. If you are near a Tyrannosaurus, it will smell you.
Let’s say you’re a normal human who has somehow been transported back 66 million years. While a Tyrannosaurus would easily be able to smell you if you’re nearby, you probably don’t have too much to worry about, especially from an adult. Most mammals in the Cretaceous didn’t get much larger than a cat, and would be pretty much useless to an adult Tyrannosaurus as a food source. Therefore they probably wouldn’t associate a mammalian scent with food. Assuming you stayed hidden, an adult Tyrannosaurus probably wouldn’t give you a second thought, or a second sniff.
On the other hand, juvenile Tyrannosaurus would probably be much more of a danger to a human than adults. They’re much smaller in size, so a contemporary mammal or two would probably make a pretty decent meal for them. This means a mammal smell would be much more enticing to a young Tyrannosaurus, and they might be drawn to investigate closer.
In this case, you have very few options. Running is pretty much useless, as young Tyrannosaurus were pursuit predators and had a much lighter build than adults. They could probably run you down with little effort. Tyrannosaurus also had incredible vision (despite what Jurassic Park would have you believe), so trying to remain hidden is basically pointless if they’ve already caught onto your scent.
I think the best option in this sort of situation is to climb a tree. Tyrannosaurus were well-adapted for running, but not so much for climbing. Humans, on the other hand, are climbing masters. If you can get yourself into a tree before the Tyrannosaurus reaches you, you’re basically untouchable, especially if it’s a juvenile. Most predators want an easy meal, and a weird mammal that’s sitting up in the branches somewhere just isn’t worth the effort. Especially if you throw stuff at them.
So in conclusion @charlesisseriousbusiness, if it’s an adult you should stay hidden and they probably won’t even bother looking in your direction. If it’s a juvenile, or if the adult tries to attack you for some bizarre reason, climb a tree until you’re out of reach and pelt them with pine cones and branches until they give up and go away. It’s probably a wise idea to identify good climbing trees and make sure you’re always within quick sprinting distance.
Really, you should probably be more worried about dromaeosaurids. They’d be fast, mammals would be a regular part of their diet, and they were probably much better at climbing than a Tyrannosaurus. If a Dakotaraptor takes an interest in you, you’re pretty much dead.
Adding to this, you should also worry about a certain non-dinosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, depending on which species is present in the formation:
The larger of the two, Quetzalcoatlus northropi is as tall as giraffe and has a wingspan the size of a small aircraft. Both of them are able to fly, but they prefer to walk, run or gallop to their prey. And both of them are fast, in the air and on the ground, so there’s no outrunning them.
And unlike T. rex, they LOVE small prey, so humans would be fair game…
How could I forget about the azhdarchids?
Jurassic World, you had so much potential 😭 there was no need to turn toothed turkeys velociraptors into gigantic death lizards, Actual Scary Animals were quite abundant!
also, that Quetzalcoatlus sculpture was made by Blue Rhino Studios - it’s important to always source artwork
