# Do you think we could train or tame dinosaurs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140 "2025-02-10T17:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/21 "2025-02-10T19:04:10Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Which is why I mentioned the ratites. Not known for being intelligent and yet people have still managed to both domesticate and train some of them. I’ve spent time with emus. Chickens are geniuses compared to them. Other ratites, like cassowaries and ostriches, have been known to kill people. If these are your modern dinosaurs than I think the answer to the OP is who would want to? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/22 "2025-02-10T20:05:26Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Chickens are geniuses compared to them. As someone who raised chickens in his youth, let me just say that chickens are really fucking stupid. The chickens on our farm lived in a coop with a chicken-wire enclosure extending in two directions. There was a little chicken-sized door into the enclosure, and one of my tasks, alongside feeding/watering/shoveling shit was to let them out in the morning and chase them back in and close the door in the evening. These chickens had spent months (no 6-week feeders for us, we grew them to 5lbs or so) going in and out through the little door, generally several times a day. One evening the family was returning to the farm from somewhere, don’t remember where, in the midst of a loud thunderstorm. When we got home, I ran out to the coop to close the door, but instead of running in through the little door to escape the storm, the chickens had decided to crowd into the corner between the side of the coop and the chickenwire in a panic, piled several chickens high. All they would have had to do was walk ~8’ around the corner of the coop to where the little door was, but that was beyond their problem-solving ability. Fortunately, they didn’t suffocate/crush the chickens at the bottom of the pile to death, at least not that time. I have never spent time around emus or ostriches, but if they’re significantly dumber than chickens… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/23 "2025-02-10T20:41:10Z")
Are emus the large domesticated fowl that periodically beat the snot out of their owners? They often make youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/24 "2025-02-10T20:41:16Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I have never spent time around emus or ostriches, but if they’re significantly dumber than chickens… I’ve raised chickens for more than 30 years. They are definitely brighter than emus, but that bar is so low it’s painted on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/25 "2025-02-10T20:44:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Are emus the large domesticated fowl that periodically beat the snot out of their owners? They often make youtube. They are only thinly domesticated. They stand around 6’ tall, but most of that is legs and neck, topped by a teeny weeny head. I wouldn’t turn my back on one, but the same goes for roosters. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/26 "2025-02-10T20:59:40Z")
I know that a cassowary killed its owner somewhat recently. I think they’re also ratites? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/27 "2025-02-10T21:07:00Z")
What about domesticating some of the herbivorous dinos for similar purposes as we’ve domesticated horses, camels, oxen, etc? Can I ride a Triceratops? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2025, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/28 "2025-02-10T21:31:07Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Dinosaurs are a big group and modern birds derived from ancient theropods, but ornithischian critters like ankylosaurs & triceratops are about as far apart from that branch as they can be and still have “They’re both dinosaurs” be true. Richard Owen was pretty much wrong when he coined the term “dinosaur”- he thought they were just big reptiles. It it really a mostly useless term, kept around due to popularity. Calling birds “dinosaurs” is technically true, but as you said-_modern birds derived from ancient theropods_ is a better way of putting it. Now scientists often have to say “non-avian dinosaurs”. So the Velociraptor- about the size of a turkey actually- could be as dumb as a modern caged turkey, or as smart as a raven. [https://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/text/extvelrapt.htm](https://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/text/extvelrapt.htm) _Velociraptors were Dromaeosaurids, among the dinosaurs with the very highest level, so they were truly smart among dinosaurs. On this ranking, they were probably a bit smarter than rabbits and not quite as smart as cats and dogs._ > [@Mangetout](#): > > What about domesticating some of the herbivorous dinos for similar purposes as we’ve domesticated horses, camels, oxen, etc? Can I ride a Triceratops? The ornithischians were apparently really stupid. They would likely make crocodiles look smart by comparison. So, not trainable. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/29 "2025-02-11T01:26:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Can I ride a Triceratops? Sure! Once… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/30 "2025-02-11T01:32:31Z")
Chickens probably aren’t a good comparison for bird intelligence, precisely because we have domesticated them. Domesticated animals don’t need to do their own thinking, unless the job we keep them for requires intelligence (and laying eggs and growing huge breasts neither one falls into that category). So chickens become dumb because they can. Almost any wild animal will have to be smarter than chickens, because if they’re not, they’ll quickly stupid themselves to death. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/31 "2025-02-11T01:48:15Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > semantic arguments about what ‘training’ or ‘domestication’ mean. Well, to start, they mean two completely different and mostly unrelated things. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/32 "2025-02-11T01:57:01Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I know that a cassowary killed its owner somewhat recently. I think they’re also ratites? Yes. Cassowaries seem to have a real mean streak to them. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/33 "2025-02-11T02:04:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Almost any wild animal will have to be smarter than chickens, because if they’re not, they’ll quickly stupid themselves to death. Not true. Chickens are mainly descended from the Red Junglefowl, still an extant southeast Asian species. In similar circumstances many of the less fanciful or production-bred varieties of chicken would readily go feral and do well. They aren’t brilliant as a species but they are perfectly adapted to being an undergrowth scavenger in tropical vegetation. We don’t see them at their finest, because we keep them in an artificial way. The same is true of almost all domesticated species. Possibly excepting emus. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/34 "2025-02-11T04:36:16Z")
Of course dinosaur is a broad group but some may actually not so dumb. > **[How Smart Were Dinosaurs? New Studies Fuel the Debate](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-smart-were-dinosaurs-new-studies-fuel-the-debate/)** > > Discussions of dinosaur brainpower spark larger questions around the nature of intelligence ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/35 "2025-02-11T07:47:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They would likely make crocodiles look smart by comparison Not all ornithischians. [Hadrosaurs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrosauridae#Neurology) had complex social behaviour and communication, with EQs in the range of birds. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > the Red Junglefowl, still an extant southeast Asian species Just saw some today! It was weird seeing “chickens” running around Singapore Botanic Garden and read the signage saying they’re legit wild birds for the area. The males look just like domesticated roosters (the females and chicks look a lot more like wild game birds, though) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/36 "2025-02-11T09:17:26Z")
Keeping a **[T. Rex as a pet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq2T-mre9jI)** is an extreme example, but this YouTube channel (Clint’s Reptiles it call itself) goes into precisely this and is scientifically correct. For comparison, in another episode it **[calls turkeys dinosaurs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkGg_akMaE0)** and evaluates their aptitude as a pet. Spoiler: turkeys are easier to keep than T. Rex. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/37 "2025-02-11T09:22:21Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > We raise those for food. I don’t think you could call them domesticated or trained? Yes, in fact chickens ARE domesticated. As are some varieties of turkeys, ducks and geese. Truly domesticated. I don’t include pigeons because I don’t know enough about them to say either way but it would not surprise me if some varieties of them fall under “domesticated” Domesticated doesn’t mean “kept as pets”. It means bred or adapted to live in a human controlled environment. That includes animals we typically eat rather than keep as companions. > [@RitterSport](#): > > Parrots and such are pretty domesticated and definitely trainable. [Birds are dinosaurs](https://xkcd.com/1211/), so maybe one of the later branches would be trainable. Parrots are considered tamed, not actually domesticated. Each generation needs to be re-tamed and they go feral very easily. A few hundred more years of controlled breeding we might wind up with actual domesticated parrots. They, however, very trainable. Also, birds are dinosaurs so the answer is “yes, some of them could be trained or tamed”. I’m not thinking about just the corvids and parrots, most birds are trainable to some degree. A big difference is between precocial and altricial young. Precocial young are born with some ability to get up, move, feed themselves, etc. Chickens, waterfowl, horses and cattle… within minutes of birth/hatching they’re up on their feet, within hours or two walking or even running after their parents. There are plenty of precocial social animals, and they’re capable of learning, but they rely heavily on instinct especially early in life. Meanwhile, altricial young are born helpless and require a LOT of parental involvement early in life - parrots, dogs and cats, and humans are all altricial. These are critters that rely heavily on learning in life There are exceptions, but as a general rule farmyard animals are precocial and companion animals are altricial. It may be that pre-asteroid impact altricial “classic” dinosaurs would be trainable/tamable and possibly even something one could domesticate. As some bird lineages predate the impact the answer in those cases would be a definite yes. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/38 "2025-02-11T09:34:24Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Sure, likewise training various falcons and stuff who otherwise aren’t known as super-bright problem solvers. I’m sure that, out of all the theropods, some would take to being trained to do something. Falcons are _excellent_ at solving hunting problems. Extremely good at being hunters. Also bright enough to understand that partnering with a human improves their hunting success, enables them to hunt prey that would otherwise being difficult or impossible, and when the hunting is bad they still get a tidbit to eat. Thing is, they have no interest in quantum physics or how to run a factory efficiently. That is arguably more a problem for us than for falcons. > [@RitterSport](#): > > I know that a cassowary killed its owner somewhat recently. I think they’re also ratites? Yes, the ratites are capable of killing a person. That’s because they are large animals with natural weaponry. Cows, horses, and pigs have likewise occasionally killed humans. Cows and horses are big enough to kill you accidentally, without intending you harm. > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Keeping a **[T. Rex as a pet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq2T-mre9jI)** is an extreme example, but this YouTube channel (Clint’s Reptiles it call itself) goes into precisely this and is scientifically correct. For comparison, in another episode it **[calls turkeys dinosaurs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkGg_akMaE0)** and evaluates their aptitude as a pet. Spoiler: turkeys are easier to keep than T. Rex. Clint is a lot of fun. When I need a break from the depressing craziness of the world I watch an episode or two. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/39 "2025-02-11T10:07:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The ornithischians were apparently really stupid. They would likely make crocodiles look smart by comparison. So, not trainable. I just want to ride the thing, not compete in olympic dressage, or maybe have it pull a plough. Some of our domesticated quadrupeds are not famous for their intellect. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140/40 "2025-02-11T10:14:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Clint is a lot of fun. When I need a break from the depressing craziness of the world I watch an episode or two. Completely agree. And he knows what he is talking about. The only thing that grates me is his pronunciation of Latin names, but that is more a problem of the English language in general. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-we-could-train-or-tame-dinosaurs/1014140.md?page=3)