Ozzy and Strut's diets

[Pangaea]

I feel that this forum is in need of some new topics for LBT-related conversation, so here's a question that I've been pondering for a while that I hope will garner some discussion and inspire speculation: what do Ozzy and Strut eat? Now, the seemingly obvious answer would be "eggs!" (with a fair chance of the individual answering the question including the phrase "duh" in their response ), and if Ozzy had his way, that is probably what they would eat all the time, but given the inherent difficulties in acquiring eggs for food, I don't think this is the case.

Granted, Ozzy and Strut were more unlucky than incompetent in their efforts to steal eggs from the Great Valley dinosaurs (Ozzy's first attempt was thwarted in the nick of time by a fortuitous airborne rock; the second time, the gang actively intervened to save the egg that the pair had already succeeded in taking; and the third time, an unintentional distraction provided by the gang sidetracked the egg stealers until the nest's guardian returned to drive them off), so, if given a sufficient quantity of nest-raiding opportunities without the interference of a certain group of leafeater children, it's conceivable that the pair could subsist on eggs alone. However, it's likely that nesting dinosaurs are few and far between outside the Great Valley, and it's implied in Ozzy and Strut's introductory scene that the valley is a considerably richer feeding ground than what they're used to. At any rate, I think that even Ozzy (who, judging by his opposition to Strut's herbivory, probably wouldn't dream of eating plants unless he was near starvation) would have to have some kind of alternative food source to fall back on when he and Strut couldn't find eggs.

In real life, Struthiomimus was probably either chiefly herbivorous, eating leaves and fruit, or omnivorous, eating small reptiles, mammals, insects, and possibly eggs in addition to the above. In addition to being toothless, its beak and hands were poorly adapted for killing, so it probably didn't eat anything that it couldn't swallow in one gulp.

Fruit is never brought up as a potential egg stealer food in LBT (Ozzy only explicitly disapproves of Strut eating vegetation; i.e., leaves, grass, and twigs), so that may be something that both Ozzy and Strut would consider palatable. Insects and small vertebrates are another possibility, depending on the extent to which the omnivorous tastes of egg stealers overlap with those of sharpteeth. This brings us to a somewhat dark question posed by FlipperBoidSkua that originally inspired this thread: Would Ozzy see the unborn dinosaur inside an egg as a food source? Ozzy's reaction upon hearing that "his" egg has hatched could be interpreted as evidence that he considers hatchlings inedible, but it's also possible that he just has an overwhelming preference for omelets over meat. Likewise, his statement to Chomper near the end of the movie, "You I liked much better as an egg", could be interpreted as either "I preferred you when you were edible and didn't annoy us" or "I would have rather eaten you when you were tastier and less annoying" (I remember Malte mentioning somewhere that the German translation of LBT II favored the latter interpretation).

So what do you think? What do you see as being on the menu for Ozzy and Strut?

[Caustizer]

Bugs, small animals like lizards and prehistoric mice, and possibly fruits and vegetables.  One thing about food is that if you go hungry long enough you get to a point where you will eat almost anything, and I think this logic could apply to Ozzy and Strut (more likely the former due to his insistance on eating eggs).

[Serris]

I did read somewhere that Struthiomimus "hands" were more like a hook and used to rake down leaves.

But it is possible that they ate small mammals, insects and eggs.

Ozzie and Strut would probably have done the same.

[vonboy]

I think they're diet would include things like that. Small bugs, lizards, etc.

Since Strut wanted to eat greenfood in the movie, that shows to me that they can eat that as well. If their omnivorous, then they would probably have to eat some form of meat sometimes, so they could get they're protean. My take is that Ozzy really didn't want Strut to eat just greenfood all the time, as he'd get sick from lack of protean eventually.

[Petrie85]

Well we know one of them likes to eat greens  So he can eat grass and leaves. Or some fruit.

[The Friendly Sharptooth]

Well, as usual with discussions, my opinion differs from everyone else’s. I don’t think Ozzie would ever eat anything except for eggs- whether he’d starve or not. If you ask me, he clearly has an obsession with eggs. He insults anyone who eats green food with a list of names, he goes on and on about how wonderful eggs are, and he hits his own brother simply for trying to eat some. Having an obsession that negatively affects someone is bad enough, but when it’s so dominating that it affects others, there is a serious mental problem. He literally assaults his own flesh and blood for eating a harmless food simply because he does not like them personally. Think, feel, and breathe only one food group? Dude, get some help.

Obsessions are very overpowering, whether someone could die from going against it or not. Did anyone else hear about the two World of Warcraft players who were so obsessed that they didn’t rest enough and died from overplaying? Death certainly didn’t stop them from sticking to their obsession. Some people simply will not eat certain foods no matter how starving they are. I know someone like that, someone who went a very long time without eating simply because his house didn’t have the kind of food he likes, despite there being plenty of food there, only dining again when the food he eats was brought over. Obsessions are not the same thing as preferences. For Ozzie to simply switch to green food upon immense hunger would make eggs seem more like his preference. But his disturbing dedication to that food group has me firmly believing he’s obsessed beyond sanity, so even near death, I cannot picture him putting green food to his lips.

That may seem very dark for a LBT character, but this theory fits perfectly to me in terms of his behavior. I think either one of two things would happen if they couldn’t find enough eggs: Either they both will starve from Ozzie refusing to touch green food and refusing to let his brother do so, or Ozzie would die but Strut all the while would be sneaking green food so keep from starvation. With a mindset like his, I wouldn’t put it past Ozzie to choose his life’s policy over his life. Several people have died from obsessions, so it’s just not so guaranteeing for me to think that Ozzie would simply change his diet, even temporarily, just to stay alive.

[Malte279]

I always considered Ozzy and Strut the kind of survivalists who could eat pretty much everything so long it holds still enough and doesn't "rock" too much as demonstrated in LBT 2 in every possible interpretation of the word "rock"
I suppose Ozzy's insistence on eggs rather than anything else is more of a matter of honor than realism and that he too would eat green foot if there was nothing else and (more importantly) if his brother wasn't looking.
On the other end of the the spectrum I believe them to be quite capable of eating meet and scavenge. They are probably omnivores and eggeaters by choice rather than preference. Very likely Ruby would fall in very much the same category of diet too choos from though she and her family would go for the green stuff rather when they have the choice.
As for the "You I liked much better as an egg" the translation in the German version actually is changing the meaning altogether. Had they stuck to the English meaning they would have let him say something like "Du warst mir als Ei wesentlich lieber" or several other possibilities. What they did however was change the meaning and have Ozzy say "Du bist ja noch wesentlich leckerer als ein Ei" which would translate to "You are even much tastier than an egg" suggesting for Ozzy to be not shy to eat a hatchling of Chomper's size if there was the chance.
So my guess is that whenever possible they would eat eggs, whenever the other one isn't watching they would eat plants, and whenever nothing else is available they would eat meat (or whenever the owner of said meat annoyed them enough cause "hunger for revenge" as well as for nutrition).