Chapter 2

The Fight To Survive: Synca

Chapter 2

The Ways of the Predator

The months go by and Synca is growing stronger. He and his siblings are now old enough for their parents to teach them how to hunt. Brutus takes Fog and Synca while Shethorne takes Pratum and Linea. The siblings sniff each other quickly to say goodbye, and then split up and go with their designated parent. Synca turns to look back at his sisters and mother one more time, then hurries to catch up with his father and brother.

A mile from the nest is a small creek. This will be Synca’s first lesson. He sees a few fish in the water, but they aren’t here to catch fish. Few dinosaurs in Texas catch fish and Nanotyrannus is not one of them. Instead, they are here because water attracts prey. Brutus leads his sons to some thick brush and hunkers down. Now they wait. Sooner or later, an animal should appear to quench its thirst. The first arrival is a large pterosaur. With a wingspan nearly forty feet across, the great flyer is far too large for the tyrannosaurs. After the giant is done drinking, he moves off. It’s nearly another hour before something they can handle arrives. A pair of Parksosaurus have come to drink and feed on the surrounding vegetation. Synca and Fog get excited at the thought of a kill, but Brutus quickly quites them down. After drinking it’s fill, one of the small dinosaurs makes it’s way over to where the Nanotyrannus are hiding. He starts to feed on the brush concealing the Synca and his family. That’s when Brutus attacks. He leaps forward and latches onto the herbivore’s head. He twists the head and quickly breaks the neck. The other Parksosaurus bolts upon seeing it’s companion killed. Synca and Fog have just learned one of the most important hunting methods of all time. The ambush.

As Brutus drags the carcass back to the nest, Synca and Fog frolic and play. When they arrive, Shethorne and the sisters are waiting for them. A pair of large lizards lay at their feet. Brutus greets his mate while the chicks play. The family will eat well today. Tomorrow is another day of learning and this time, the whole family will be present.

When the sun is barely peeking above the horizon the next morning, the family sets out. Today is a very important day. The chicks will learn one of the most important lessons of all. How to scavenge properly. While scavenging seems like a pretty easy and straightforward task, it’s actually quite risky. Get too close or agitate the dinosaur your scavenging from, you’ll probably end up dead. Stay back too far, and there might not be anything left by the time you get there. Today, the chicks will attempt to scavenge from Brutus while Shethorne keeps watch for danger. But first, Brutus has to catch something for the chicks to scavenge off of.

While the chicks wait with their mother, Brutus goes to hunt. To get as much learning experience as possible, the family watches Brutus as he runs down a lone Ornithomimus. Once the dinosaur is down, the chicks split up into two teams of two. Synca goes with Linea, while Fog and Pratum go together. While Brutus will not kill the young, he will chase them off and do whatever a real rival would do should he discover scavengers. As the teams attempt to scavenge from Brutus, Synca gets an idea. He gives Linea a signal to follow his lead. He and his sister sneak up behind Fog and Pratum. Then, when the timing is right, they each push one of the chicks directly into Brutus’ line of sight. Once he sees the chicks, Brutus gives chase. With Brutus distracted, Synca and Linea can successfully scavenge from the carcass. When Brutus finally sees what happened, he nods in approval. Synca has just demonstrated the power of intelligence. Strength and speed help you survive. But intelligence helps you live.

Many months pass. The lessons come and go. The chicks are growing in both size and experience. They may know the basics of how to survive, but life itself is the greatest teacher. Over the course of his life, Synca will expand his knowledge and continue to learn the ways of the predator.