4 ms·

Apparently there's a population of African elephants which rear up and balance to feed higher.[1] [1] nature video starts with example: https://www.youtube.com

Apparently there's a population of African elephants which rear up and balance to feed higher.[1] [1] nature video starts with example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XzQ4BQe4fM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XzQ4BQe4fM short clip: https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/19bge4y/african_elephant_standing_on_hind_legs_to_feed_on/ https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/19bge4y... longer clip with two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpxgqu_Cfkg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpxgqu_Cfkg

HarHarVeryFunny 4mo ago
Cool videos, but just because you can doesn't mean you should! At least an elephant, having a trunk, can pull down a whole branch and make the effort worthwhile as that first video shows. It seems that a sauropod with only its tiny mouth for grabbing wouldn't be able to do that, so the outcome would be more like in that last video where the elephant was only able to grab a couple of leaves, which I assume can't have been a calorific win!
- mncharity 4mo ago
  Hmm. Wouldn't a long neck permit amortizing the body lift across a lot of foliage?
  - HarHarVeryFunny 4mo ago
    I suppose in theory they could stay reared up browsing for a while, but every mouthful that needed to be chewed and swallowed in that position would be expending at least some muscular energy in stabilizing itself and maintaining leg extension. If it was swinging it's neck from side to side while upright, then it would also need to be expending energy not only to do that but also to shift it's weight to counterbalance. My intuition says it wouldn't be worth it, and the size some of these dinosaurs grew to suggests that easy (e.g. ground level) food was plentiful back then. I've always supposed that evolution bred gigantism out of most DNA lineages as a hard won lesson that food won't always be plentiful, and that in times of shortage being smaller is an advantage.
- spullara 4mo ago
  the sauropod would strip whole branches at a time, not bite the leaves off.
- pvaldes 4mo ago
  why to spend your energy eating leaves if you can go for premium lipids on avocados? or nectar dripping flowers? Did the dinosaurs ate honey?

HarHarVeryFunny 4mo ago

Cool videos, but just because you can doesn't mean you should! At least an elephant, having a trunk, can pull down a whole branch and make the effort worthwhile as that first video shows. It seems that a sauropod with only its tiny mouth for grabbing wouldn't be able to do that, so the outcome would be more like in that last video where the elephant was only able to grab a couple of leaves, which I assume can't have been a calorific win!

mncharity 4mo ago
Hmm. Wouldn't a long neck permit amortizing the body lift across a lot of foliage?
- HarHarVeryFunny 4mo ago
  I suppose in theory they could stay reared up browsing for a while, but every mouthful that needed to be chewed and swallowed in that position would be expending at least some muscular energy in stabilizing itself and maintaining leg extension. If it was swinging it's neck from side to side while upright, then it would also need to be expending energy not only to do that but also to shift it's weight to counterbalance. My intuition says it wouldn't be worth it, and the size some of these dinosaurs grew to suggests that easy (e.g. ground level) food was plentiful back then. I've always supposed that evolution bred gigantism out of most DNA lineages as a hard won lesson that food won't always be plentiful, and that in times of shortage being smaller is an advantage.
spullara 4mo ago
the sauropod would strip whole branches at a time, not bite the leaves off.
pvaldes 4mo ago
why to spend your energy eating leaves if you can go for premium lipids on avocados? or nectar dripping flowers? Did the dinosaurs ate honey?