User blog comment:Cloverfield monster/How come herbivores are never portrayed as bad guys?/@comment-1187034-20150617013041/@comment-75.36.162.86-20150626190448

I would also say that the root of the latter thing he mentions is the root of that. Herbivores (heck, even plants) can be insanely dangerous, certainly. But by and large, animals (even carnivores) don't like going out and arbitrarily killing things for no reason. That takes up a lot of precious energy and it's something most species don't like to do. The fact that the I. Rex of Jurassic World actually kills for pleasure and sport (and on that scale) rather than hunger or defense is deeply, deeply unnatural.

But whereas Carnivores have to rip into somebody's flesh (either by killing it themselvees or scavanging it) and thus need to be physically and mentally equipped, herbivores don't. It is better for them to stay out of the way, focus on eating leafy greens, and smack anybody or anything that tries to mess with you. That "smack anybody or anything that tries to mess with you" is where most of the threat from Herbivores comes from, besides accidentally tampling you or the like because it doesn't realize you're there or one of you gets aggressive.

If you stuck a Bronosaur in New York City, it would probably make a beeline for Central Park to eat.

This would be terrible news for anybody in the general neighborhood of the path it took (people on the road, people in the buildings nearby, etc). But it isn't doing it out of malice or an aggressive drive to eat human or animal meat. You're not its' prey, you are simply in the way. And might even be a predator to it.

If you dropped a T-Rex in NYC on the other hand, it would probably be interested in eating all those lovely little snacks walking around and going throught he city to get it.

New York City to a Bronosaur would be like a desert populated by tons of angry little things hunting you in a wasteland between the small oasis. It would be terrified.

NYC to a T-Rex would still terrify it, sure. But it would also seem like an oppertunity. An all you can eat smorgasborg. Hope this might help explain it to some degree.