The extinction of the dinosaurs. An event we don't truly understand, and one that we haven't grasped entirely since it happened. We wouldn't be able to live and tell about it, seeing as how we weren't there. There have been several theories, some revolving around the Ice Age, others about a meteor, and many others to count. We may never truly know. I theorize.... they possibly didn't have the ability to hibernate, which is why they couldn't adapt. This could go several ways, we might never truly know. I ask what you might think...
 
In your opinion, how could the dinosaurs have died? If they existed now, how would they interact with us? Thanks for caring. 

I'm pretty sure most scientists support the asteroid theory. A meteor hit the Earth, clouds of dust formed, temperatures fell, plants died, food chains were broken, ecosystems collapsed.

The climate change after the impact was too fast for any significant evolutionary shenanigans. Plants, needing light and being sensitive to temperature, went down first, then large herbivores that needed those plants, and large carnivores soon after. Small dinosaurs probably survived longer, feeding on small, though plants or small mammals and reptiles, but it wasn't enough to get them through the event.

Birds might have survived because they could eat seeds. Considering how birds with reptilian teeth went extinct around the same time as dinosaurs, this may not be as silly as it sounds. Basically, seeds weren't able to sprout, so they were of no use to herbivorous non-avian dinosaurs. Small birds could just pick them up and crush them with their beaks, tapping into a new source of nutrition.

Mammals could burrow, swim, eat whatever, sleep wherever. Being small and rat-like was a big asset in a post-apocalyptic world. Well, mammals changed only very slightly from late Triassic to late Cretaceous, so if any design was going to succeed, it was this one.

Hibernation wasn't the main problem, since animals couldn't wait so long anyway, even hibernated. Can't sleep for 1 000 000 years, sorry.

If non-avian dinosaurs existed now, they would be mostly becoming extinct anyway. Ceratopsids would be hunted (illegally) for their horns, large carnivores would have been all exterminated by now for killing sheep, sauropods would be killed for trampling farm plots. Our civilizations evolved in a world without dinosaurs, and there is no way we could coexist.
And if we look at it realistically, without K-T extinction, we wouldn't even exist. There could be a species of intelligent birds just sitting here and writing about the extinction of pseudosuchians, and the Triassic-Jurassic extinction.

Magic~

Actually have you heard of the square cube law?
The square-cube law (or cube-square law) is a mathematical principle, applied in a variety of scientific fields, which describes the relationship between the volume and the area as a shape's size increases or decreases.

Suppose a person got three times as tall. Their height, being a single spatial dimensions, would increase by a factor of 31, or 3. Their surface area, being an area (which is defined by two linear dimensions) would go up by a factor of 32, or 9. Their mass, which is a function of volume (define by three linear dimensions) would go up by 33, or 27

Which means that they would not be able to support their own weight.

If I recall correctly, some scientists theorize that a sudden shift in gravity (Maybe one caused by a meteor?) killed of the dinosaurs. The bigger ones just couldn't maintain their own weight because of the square cube law, and they died off. With that sudden shift in the ecosystem, eventually things just started going extinct.

In fact, giraffes have special muscles in their necks that allow blood to flow quickly through them, so they don't die of the same reason.

maguc : That's interesting enough but I always thought it was generally accepted that the real big boys (dinosaurs, that is) lived in water to allow the water to take a portion of their bulk off their bodies. That allowed circulation and blood flow to be successful.

Also, I'm not sure how much more gravity is added with a meteor, no matter how big. I mean, it sounds interesting but I don't know if the math works. Do you have any links to any articles from reputable printing/newsy websites I can investigate. It's a new thought process to me and I'd be interested to read more.

I believe a massive meteor came down, exploded either by impact or by air pressure in the atmosphere, exploded, threw up enough debris to lower the temperature to kill off massive amounts of plant life, and the rest if it fell apart. That seems logical, there's evidence, it's readily accepted and I think most mainstream scientific groups generally accept it as the most likely event, well in front of other hypotheses.

Seeing as how scientists have "confirmed" that a super volcano almost decimated mankind several tenths of thousands of years back in time (due to the dust cloud reducing the planet's temperature and blocking the sun rays, with all the consequences that implies), it's totally possible that a similar event caused the dinosaurs to disappear.

Back then, the dinosaurs had almost no need to hold back, since there was enough food for all kinds of creatures. Therefore, if a sudden event unleashed a climatic shift, dinosaurs wouldn't be able to quickly adapt to the new environment. We may never know the exact conditions, but seeing other events being similar in nature we can have a glimpse of how it was.

maguc : A meteor causing a shift of gravity is impossible, at least on impact. It would need to be close to the Earth, and also several times bigger than our planet to have an effect on us. The moon, being so distant and smaller than the Earth, can only cause small tides, so imagine what would be needed to shift the planet's gravity as a whole. And talking about the moon, a meteor coming too close wouldn't have crashed into it before affecting the Earth? 

alein ufos aducted them