Robert T Bakker led the Dinosaur Renaissance
Dr Robert T Bakker played an important role in driving the Dinosaur Renaissance, forcing scientists to rethink their ideas on dinosaur behaviour and dinosaur evolution. He realised that they were amazing creatures, perfectly adapted to their environment, and not dull slow creatures long overdue for extinction. Read on to find out more >>>
If you watch a lot of dinosaur documentaries he is the dude with the big hair, big hat and big beard. And the dude with the big ideas. He led the world when it came to changing ideas on dinosaurs and their behaviour.
Long overdue for extinction
It was Ostrom and Bakker who showed us that dinosaurs were amazing creatures. Those ideas eventually were incorporated into the likes of Jurassic Park and Jurassic World and we now think it silly to think of dinosaurs as oversized, slow, swamp dwelling beasts unable to survive in the Mesozoic world and long overdue for extinction.
He published his book, ‘Dinosaur Heresies: New Theories Unlocking the Mystery of Dinosaurs and their Extinction’ which assisted in driving the revolution in dinosaur thinking.
The Dinosaur Heresies by Robert T Bakker
It was in this book that he lent weight to the theory that dinosaurs, at least in some cases, were warm-blooded animals that successfully ruled our planet for 180 million years. He also popularised the theory that dinosaurs were the ancestors of birds –an idea first put forward by Huxley over a hundred years earlier and supported by his great teacher, John Ostrom. This idea had been laughed at at the time but of course is now widely accepted by the palaeontology community and the public at large.
Gary Larson making a joke about dinosaur intelligence. How we used to view dinosaurs.
Bakker then went on to Harvard to study anatomy and zoology and received his PhD in 1971, following which he lectured anatomy at John Hopkins University, all the while continuing with his study of dinosaurs and working with John Ostrom. Those two are credited with the dinosaur renaissance which has led to the ongoing burgeoning of dinosaur studies across the globe. Much of his work has been done in Wyoming and especially at Como Bluff, but he has travelled to Mongolia and South Africa on his quest for dinosaurs and to study the environments in which they lived.
Eventually eaten by T Rex
Bakker has written popular books, and was caricatured in Jurassic Park as Dr Robert Burke – who was eventually eaten by T Rex.
He helps out at the Tate Museum in Casper Wyoming, is the director of the Morrison Natural History Museum in Colorado, Visiting Curator at the Houston Texas Museum of Natural Science and when he isn’t doing all of that he consults for museums and other organisations.
Hats off to Dr Bakker
He lives in Wyoming and Colorado, and is active in leading fossil digs. So, Dr Bakker is an amazing guy – a revolutionary thinker, writer, novelist and artist. Clearly a man in love with his craft and it just shows.
Hats off to Dr Bob Bakker – Palaeontologist Extraordinaire!
And seeing that you are here, grab yourself a copy of our free colouring book, which is full of wonderful dinosaurs and other Mesozoic creatures for you to bring back to life.
Get the DinoZone Free Colouring Book
Hours of creative fun for all the kids in your world. Splash colour across the Mesozoic to make it your own.
[…] Diverse Ecosystems: The discovery of dinosaur fossils from different geological periods and regions revealed the immense diversity of dinosaur species. This diversity challenged the notion that dinosaurs were simple, uniform creatures and showcased their adaptability to various environments. Robert T Bakker did an enormous amount of work on this, which you can read about here. […]