Tyrannosaurs are superb nightmare fuel. Exquisitely adapted for
catching, killing and crunching other dinosaurs, they were among
the most formidable predators ever, and now University of
Alberta palaeontologist Philip Currie has proposed an even more
frightening twist to tyrannosaur behaviour. The tyrants were not
lone marauders, Currie suggests, but coordinated pack hunters.
Currie's hypothesis is presented in an absurdly hyped mass media
package under the heading Dino Gangs. In its synopsis, the book
Dino Gangs calls Currie's hypothesis "groundbreaking" three
times in nearly as many sentences. The trailer for the
documentary tie-in – aired on Discovery UK last month – doesn't
hold back on the sensationalism, either, closing with the
nonsequitur "If dinosaurs hadn't become extinct, would gangs of
killer tyrannosaurs now rule the world?" It should surprise no
one that such nauseating hype emanates from Atlantic
Productions. This is the same media company which, in 2009,
pedalled exaggerated claims that a beau