Lambeosaurus

Tier: 4
Type: Terrestrial herbivore
Passive growth time: 2 hrs 51 min

Band size: 6 sub adults/adults, 1-12 juveniles/adolescents
Hierarchy: Patriarchal

Mating bond: Polygyny
Nest size: 1-4 offspring per pair

Diet tags: Herbivore & forager
Preferred food: Berry bushes, roots, pinecones & flowers

Behavior

This duck-billed dinosaur is known for the flashy crest sitting at the top of their head. Lambeosaurus prefers to move with a group of other Lambeosaurus since it feels the safest when surrounded by herdmates. Lambeosaurus are very social animals and tend to get very loud with their deep and hollow calls when socializing with their herdmates. The herd tends to follow wherever the lead male goes: if he finds a suitable place he wants to make his territory, that is where they shall settle.

Recommended behaviors

╸This duck-billed dinosaur prefers to live near rivers and swampy areas.
╸Is very fearful around carnivores and most often runs away when faced with danger.
╸These are very vocal hadrosaurs, their calls can be heard miles away especially during mating season.
╸Lambeosaurus often group up and hang around other hadrosaurids like Barsboldia, Parasaurolophus and Iguanodon. Sometimes even big herds can be spotted moving around the island's plains.

Mating

Lambeosaurus mating season is really hard to miss, since the males tend to get extremely loud with their deep calls trying to gather as many females as possible in his territory. Males mark their territory by rubbing themselves on trees and making broadcasting calls to let other males know who this area belongs to. If a lone female or a small group ends up on the male's territory, he will follow her around, smelling her and making soft calls to show readiness. If a lone male ends up entering the territory, a loud battle is started where the males will broadcast loudly and show off their bulky builds. If either one of the males does not back up from the chest buffing competition, a fight will be triggered that will end up with the weaker one limping away while the strong winner surely has all the female's attention.

Nesting & offspring

A Lambeosaurus female builds her nest alone in tall grass or hidden in ferns near a riverbank. She will gestate the eggs without moving too far from the nest until the eggs start cracking open. Lambeosaurus hatchlings will remain hidden in vegetation for the first few days of their life until they are strong enough to follow their mother around and escape danger without getting left behind. They spend most of their days trotting right behind their mother, never stranding too far away to avoid getting trampled by the other huge hadrosaurs in the group. When offspring reach sub adult, their mothers will chase them away from the herd and mate with the same male again next mating season if he can still prove to be the strongest and healthiest available.