# Could any modern-day animal give a t-rex a run for its money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 19, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952 "2006-03-19T01:15:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lowkey\_but\_high\_locks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lowkey\_but\_high\_locks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowkey_but_high_locks)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/41 "2006-03-19T20:03:06Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Do Komodo dragons actually just bite a prey and wait until it dies from infection??? Indeed they do. Douglas Adam’s last chance to see has some good chaptors on it. Accourding to [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_Dragon): > [@](#): > > Diet and feeding > > Komodo Dragons are carnivorous. Although they seem to like dead prey, studies show that they also hunt live prey, with a stealthy approach followed by a sudden short charge, during which they can run briefly at speeds up to 20 km/h (~13 mi/h). Komodo Dragons have not been traditionally considered to be venomous, but the serations along their teeth create an ideal niche for over 50 different strains of bacteria. If their initial bite does not kill the prey, and it escapes, the deadly infections caused by the bacteria living in the Dragons teeth kill it within a week. Then the Komodo Dragon descends upon its victim by identifying its stench to feed on its dead flesh. The Komodo Dragon also has large claws that when they are younger can be used to climb trees, but when their older can be used as weapons. > > The Komodo dragon’s prey is wide ranging, and includes wild pigs, goats, deer, and water buffaloes. In the wild they have also been observed to eat other young Komodo dragons. Occasionally they have been known to eat humans and human corpses. Over a dozen human deaths have been attributed to dragon bites in the last century, though there are reports of survivors of the resulting septicemia. Relevent to the T-rex, a septic bite would let it take down critters much bigger then it. So it would have to be an animal small enough and quick enough the T-rex doesn’t get a chance to bite at all. Either that or one with a strong immune system. Assuming the bacteria could infect modern animals. Question, how likely is it 65 million year old tooth nasties would be suited to infect modern animals? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/42 "2006-03-19T21:06:45Z")
New, conflicting theories about dinosaurs come up on a regular basis, and it’s hard to know which, if any, are accurate. IF the traditional view of the T. Rex as a vicious predator is accurate, it might well be the most lethal land animal of all time. BUT… there are more than a few paleontologists who’ve suggested it was primarily an overgrown carrion eater. If that’s true, it may not have been as aggressive as our favorite movies suggest, and there MAY be latter-day animals who could fight it off, or whom the T. Rex would elect not to mess with. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/43 "2006-03-19T21:12:30Z")
There are any number of incredibly venomous and poisonous creatures in Australia that could probably fell a T-Rex quite easily, although it would depend on a lot of biological and circulatory data for the Tyrannosaur that we just don’t have. Perhaps we could go for some kind of Tag-Team match? Maybe a Portugeuse Man-O-War Jellyfish and a Taipan Snake, or a Mexican Staring Frog Of Southern Sri Lanka and a Yowie… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/44 "2006-03-19T21:18:37Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > How 'bout a gorilla with a rocket launcher? Versus Tyrannosaurs in F-15’s! ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/45 "2006-03-19T21:38:03Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Do Komodo dragons actually just bite a prey and wait until it dies from infection??? > > > [@lowkey but high locks](#): > > > > Indeed they do. Douglas Adam’s last chance to see has some good chaptors on it. Douglas Adams was a science fiction author, not a scientst. Moreover the book you quote is over 15 years old and hideously out of date. Komodo dragons don’t just bite prey and wait for it to die from infetion. Despite being very large Komodo dragons are monitors, and like all monitors they are venomous. They rely on a specifically produced chemical cocktail in their venom to subdue prey. Although any animal bitten by a dragon that manages to survive both the bite and the venom will likely succumb to infection their is no evidence that the infection is anything but an accident, and no evidence that it plays any role in prey capture. > [@Dr. Bryan Fry](#): > > [They have venom, not bacteria. The whole bacteria thing has been dogma but a complete red herring.](http://loom.corante.com/archives/2005/11/21/which_came_first_the_snake_or_the_venom.php) The effects produced by goanna bites (such as rapid swelling, pain and prolonged bleeding, persisting for several hours) are totally inconsistent with bacterial effects. In contrast, we did bioactivity testing of crude varanid venom as well as purified toxin type and demonstrated bioactive effects. > > [Killing a prey several days later by bacteria is totally illogical.](http://www.pandasthumb.org/archives/2005/11/of_dragons_and.html) This dogma was based mostly on conjecture and assumption and the comments almost entirely directed towards non-natural prey items (buffalo and other mammals are introduced species in the islands, the naturally available prey are much smaller and venom would have a much more profound effect). SO the bacteria has been a complete red herring. Of course they have some nasty bacteria around, any carnivore would since they all love to scavenge. Even vultures would have something nice and toxic if you gave them a swab. This doesn’t mean that it plays any role in prey capture. It would be too slow to subdue a prey and something that dies later is of no use to the individual animal that bit it. They are not communal so there would be no group selection benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2006, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/46 "2006-03-19T23:19:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Versus Tyrannosaurs in F-15’s! HAHAHAH!! I have that Calvin and Hobbes cartoon floating so clearly in front of my eyes now. 😃 Er… I presume that’s the reference you were making. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/47 "2006-03-20T04:44:34Z")
My money’s on [King Kong](http://kensforce.com/konggodzilla2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/48 "2006-03-20T05:17:57Z")
Actually, this question has already been definitively answered: [Brock Sampson](http://venture.mancubus.net/eps/104.php). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/49 "2006-03-20T06:06:19Z")
The OP states that T-Rexes were speedy creatures. I don’t think we know that. So, is there any reason to think that modern mammals, for example, would fall prey to a T-rex? I suspect most could outrun that dino, and probably wouldn’t be caught off guard so easily. T-rexes evolved to deal with the animals living at the time. It might be that if you transported one to modern times, it wouldn’t be able to deal with the animals it would encounter. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/50 "2006-03-20T07:17:09Z")
Article from Physics Today: [How Fast Could Tyrannosaurus rex Run?](http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-4/p18.html) Smaller dinos have fossilized footprints, which permit some guesswork. For the T-Rex, less accurate anatomical study is required. Estimates range as high as 45mph, but more recent work tends to support an upper bound of about 25mph, perhaps [10-25mph](http://tam.cornell.edu/students/garcia/.trex_www/naturepaper.html). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/51 "2006-03-20T14:25:04Z")
I can’t believe this thread could get so long without someone posting Batman if he’s prepared ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/52 "2006-03-20T14:31:06Z")
What about sharks with freakin’ lasers on their heads? ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/53 "2006-03-20T14:32:18Z")
If, as others have posted, we allow species that may have become only recently extinct, and a shallow-water aquatic battlefield is acceptable, then I predict [Carcharodon megalodon](http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/InNews/megatoothshark.htm) to win in a first round KO. Some scientists argue that this megatooth shark may have lived as recently as 10-15,000 years ago (1.2 – 24 mya is more substantiated). On a recent jaunt to our local marine museum, I was able to hold and compare a [Megatooth shark tooth](http://www.fossilguy.com/topics/megshark/megshark.htm) to that of adult Great White – the difference is staggering. I for one would be reluctant to stick my toe into any body of water likely to harbor a fish that is known to snack on large whales, T-rex should be just as cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/54 "2006-03-20T14:58:54Z")
> [@BabaBooey](#): > > What about an elephant with a shark strapped to its back, trampling and eating everything in its path? With frickin’ laser beams. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/55 "2006-03-20T15:27:27Z")
It’s not an unaided modern creature, but this question brings to mind the climax of the 1960 movie **Dinosaurus!** (Yes, the exclamation point was part of the title). A low-budget dinosaur flick which used a lot of short cuts (like rod-puppet shots when they could get away with it), but at least _did_ feature stop-motion dinosaurs (the scenes were re-used in TV shows for a dozen years thereafter). It was a cheapie, but the climax was awesome – the Goodf Guy takes on the rampaging T. Rex by getting into a steam shovel and duking it out with the beast, eventually knocking it into the ocean, where it essentially freezes. It’s a great idea – the Steam Shovel puts him almost on a par with the T. Rex, but it’s open enough that he’s vulnerable as well. I have a strong feeling that James Cameron saw this flick as a kid, and it influenced his choice for the climactic last battle in **Aliens**. > **[Dinosaurus! (1960) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053768/)** > > Dinosaurus!: Directed by Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr.. With Ward Ramsey, Kristina Hanson, Paul Lukather, Alan Roberts. After undersea explosions near a Caribbean island, prehistoric creatures are unleashed on the unsuspecting population. Freed from his... ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/56 "2006-03-20T15:42:45Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Is this a different kind of man with a rocket launcher that was excluded from the OP? O.K., so no man with a rocket launcher. But, how 'bout a woman … of the scorned variety? Such a fight would be too close to call, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/57 "2006-03-20T15:50:43Z")
By the way, it’s not a T Rex, but Harryhausen’s “Ymir” from **20 Million Miles to Earth** was about the same size, and bipedal. It had a run-in with an elephant (see poster): [http://www.scifilm.org/reviews/20million.html](http://www.scifilm.org/reviews/20million.html) The Ymir won, but it got a “run for its money”. Besides, the YMIR used its hands, which the T. Rex wouldn’t get much mileage out of. The T. Rex _would_ have its teeth, and it’d be interesting to se if tusks or teeth prevailed. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/58 "2006-03-20T15:52:27Z")
More pix of Ymir vs. Jumbo: [http://pharosproductions.com/aosma/aosma\_movies\_20mil.html](http://pharosproductions.com/aosma/aosma_movies_20mil.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/59 "2006-03-20T16:12:53Z")
Harryhausen had an Allosaurus take on an elephant in _Valley of Gwangi_, also. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952/60 "2006-03-20T16:14:16Z")
:smack: How could I forget? Harryhausen has a T rex battle an elephant in **The Valley of Gwangi**. Wasn’t as good as in 20MMtE, though. The elephant still loses. Couldn’t find any pix. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-any-modern-day-animal-give-a-t-rex-a-run-for-its-money/348952.md?page=4)