The "Dinosaurs Are Cool" Thread

[Foxridley]

That's actually a fair point: if the dinosaurs were to even SURVIVE being brought back then they would have to be WAY smaller than they used to be since all that air was why they were so big in the first place.

Well, there were plenty of dinosaurs that were no bigger than modern animals (real velociraptor, protoceratops). The big ones just get more attention.

A philosophical question. Who are dinosaurs more like today's crocodiles or birds? Birds are tamed, crocodiles are soulless death machines.

Birds can be pretty aggressive. Especially considering that some will attack creatures considerably bigger than they are. A crocodile just has an easier time killing you.

 

[Amepix]

Dinosaurs are birds. So taming them could be possible.

 

[Vanessa Howl]

Dinosaurs are birds. So taming them could be possible.

Dinosaurs are birds NOW.

Most birds are fairly small and easy to manage and even the bigger one's like ostriches have existed alongside humans for long enough that you can at least control them. Most dinosaurs, even made smaller are unlikely to be make the size of a chicken or a turkey (both things that will still come at you DESPITE their size) so you'd have to wait a pretty long time before you got a safely tamable dinosaur.

 

[Foxridley]

Dinosaurs are birds. So taming them could be possible.

I would say some dinosaurs could be tamed, since they were a pretty diverse group. There's a reason we were able to domesticate horses but not zebras.

 

[RamblingRenegade]

Actually TBH I'm surprised we don't have Dinos back already. I know that Wolly Mammoths were supposed to be back by now, I know Josh Gates if Destination truth did an episode where they said they had 90% of DNA like 5 years ago and were planning on reintroducing them. I read somewhere a year or so ago they had a complete strand of DNA or darn near it for a herbivore breed that they said could be brought back if they had a surrogate large enough to support it

 

[Deleted member 160111]

There's a reason we were able to domesticate horses but not zebras.

Well, yes, zebras do not want to obey black or white, they want we to be striped. Zebra black with white stripes by the way. Racist horses lmao.

 

[Deleted member 160111]

had 90% of DNA like 5 years ago

I know what you're talking about. It is strange that there has been absolutely no news since then. It looked like a grand attempt.

 

[RamblingRenegade]

Actually you can domesticate some zebras, I got led around on one, they are just unpredictable and when they decide they are done they become violent if you tell them otherwise. There's a lady in Michigan that sells tamed some broke zebras, they aren't cheap though, and most people dont want an animal that turns bronco whenever it wants

 

[Foxridley]

Actually TBH I'm surprised we don't have Dinos back already. I know that Wolly Mammoths were supposed to be back by now, I know Josh Gates if Destination truth did an episode where they said they had 90% of DNA like 5 years ago and were planning on reintroducing them. I read somewhere a year or so ago they had a complete strand of DNA or darn near it for a herbivore breed that they said could be brought back if they had a surrogate large enough to support it

There's a world of difference between what we have left of mammoths vs what we have left of non-avian dinosaurs. We're talking a difference in time of 2 orders of magnitude and much better preserved mammoth fossils.
That, and the idea that it might be plausible to incubate a mammoth in an elephant womb, but we don't have something suitable for non-avian dinosaurs.

 

[Vanessa Howl]

I would say some dinosaurs could be tamed, since they were a pretty diverse group. There's a reason we were able to domesticate horses but not zebras.

Fair enough. It would still take quite a bit of time (and breeding) for one to be a good pet, though. Can't just take a animal and raise it from birth and expect it to be like having a dog: people have tried having CHIMPS as pets and it tends to end very badly (like that one time a couple had a pet chimp and left him with a friend while they went on vacation and the chimp straight up attacked the friend simply for touching his Tickle Me Elmo). It would take years and years of breeding dinosaurs to tolerate humans for one to be even remotely safe as a pet.

 

[RamblingRenegade]

I get it, I just knew there was a Japanese firm i thought that said it had greater than 90% of DNA for a herbivore specials of dinosaur, they found a super intact skeleton with skin etc on it. They were saying they could bring it back if they had a surrogate large enough

 

[Foxridley]

Fair enough. It would still take quite a bit of time (and breeding) for one to be a good pet, though. Can't just take a animal and raise it from birth and expect it to be like having a dog: people have tried having CHIMPS as pets and it tends to end very badly (like that one time a couple had a pet chimp and left him with a friend while they went on vacation and the chimp straight up attacked the friend simply for touching his Tickle Me Elmo). It would take years and years of breeding dinosaurs to tolerate humans for one to be even remotely safe as a pet.

It depends, though. People keep pet birds that have not been selectively bred, and there were small dinosaurs like Anchiornis and Microraptor.

 

[Vanessa Howl]

It depends, though. People keep pet birds that have not been selectively bred, and there were small dinosaurs like Anchiornis and Microraptor.

But the birds that people keep as pets are still pretty small (small enough to fit in a cage in your bedroom or living room) and aren't super dangerous as a species. Even the two dinosaurs you used as an example were bigger than what you'd keep as a pet (unless you lived on a farm or something and even then it's unlikely you're keeping it in your house) and (at least from the pictures) look like meat eaters so having them as pets would be much different than having, say a parakeet or even a macaw.

 

[Foxridley]

But the birds that people keep as pets are still pretty small (small enough to fit in a cage in your bedroom or living room) and aren't super dangerous as a species. Even the two dinosaurs you used as an example were bigger than what you'd keep as a pet (unless you lived on a farm or something and even then it's unlikely you're keeping it in your house) and (at least from the pictures) look like meat eaters so having them as pets would be much different than having, say a parakeet or even a macaw.

I guess, though anchiornis was still smaller than a house cat.

 

[Vanessa Howl]

I guess, though anchiornis was still smaller than a house cat.

But house cats have been around humans for 1000's of years and even then, it's only because they are too small to eat us. A anchiornis may not eat you (though it may try) but it would likely still be pretty aggressive and a lot of people can't even handle taking care of the CAT properly.

 

[Fallowfox]

I get it, I just knew there was a Japanese firm i thought that said it had greater than 90% of DNA for a herbivore specials of dinosaur, they found a super intact skeleton with skin etc on it. They were saying they could bring it back if they had a surrogate large enough

DNA can survive in 'sub-fossils' for a few thousand years, like buried human skeletons. It can survive for a few tens of thousands of years in exceptional scenarios, such as inside permafrost. Even then, DNA can be partially broken down, and contaminated with other organisms' DNA, especially that from germs.

This material can tell you how closely related a mastodon is to an african elephant, or whether your bronze age ancestors had caught the herpes virus, but it can't currently be used to clone long dead creatures.

The last non-avian dinosaurs are over 60 million years old, and practically none of the material they have left behind is 'organic'. Think more like impressions in rocks, bone that has partially or completely turned into rock, etc.

 

[Connor J. Coyote]

@Vanessa Howl Here ya go, hun........ they're waiting for the party to start, or the next con announcement perhaps:

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It's argued though, (and they say): that long-time users such as myself are, in a way..... dinosaurs of our own.

 

[WatermelonCollie]

I’ve gotten into parasaurolophus the past year. I use to be really into predators like trex and raptors. But I’ve found herbivores pretty interesting lately. One of my special interests in ancient creature.
My fursona I’m working on is a parasaurolophus named Amadeus, he’s a banjo playing, Appalachian bard with a thick accent, I’m still working on his coloring though, as I want something inspired by ducks. Probably a mandarin duck.

 

[Vanessa Howl]

I’ve gotten into parasaurolophus the past year. I use to be really into predators like trex and raptors. But I’ve found herbivores pretty interesting lately. One of my special interests in ancient creature.
My fursona I’m working on is a parasaurolophus named Amadeus, he’s a banjo playing, Appalachian bard with a thick accent, I’m still working on his coloring though, as I want something inspired by ducks. Probably a mandarin duck.

Herbivores don't get a lot of attention from people so always good when someone makes one as a fursona.

For color, though mallards also have a interesting coloring (and are good for if you're shooting for more muted tones like you might find on a actual dinosaur) so that's one to think about as well.

 

[DorjeStego]

Am dinosaur.

I think my pfp should tell you all you need to know about my favourite.

Spoiler: Pics

 

[Amepix]

Am dinosaur.

I think my pfp should tell you all you need to know about my favourite.

Spoiler: Pics

Wow! He is a dinosaur! So cool!

 

[Vanessa Howl]

Am dinosaur.

I think my pfp should tell you all you need to know about my favourite.

Spoiler: Pics

That you are, good sir.

And I like the prehistoric take.

 

[DorjeStego]

That you are, good sir.

And I like the prehistoric take.

Yep, that's very intentional.

And the necklace is supposed to be Allosaurus teeth, as they often didn't come out on top in a fight with a stegosaurus.

 

[Deleted member 162282]

Dinosaurs are awesome!

 

[Vanessa Howl]

Yep, that's very intentional.

And the necklace is supposed to be Allosaurus teeth, as they often didn't come out on top in a fight with a stegosaurus.

Extra points for detail.

Ever see the old Jim Hanson show Dinosaurs?