The spring thaw had not happened yet, there was still some patchy snow on the ground, and the flood plain of the river was covered in moss...the river itself was low, and cold to the touch. In a month or so, the river would be running hard through the canyon, but right now, it was safe for her to hunt on either side, she could easily walk across the gentle flow.
A kilometer behind her, the young from last year and her mate guarded the newly born infants from the scavenging velociraptors, always ready for an easy meal, and two baby Albertosaurs would be a feast indeed. She did not worry too much, though, the male she had coupled with for the last five seasons was battle hardened, even driving off a juvenile Tyrannosaur that ventured too close to the nest just a moon ago, and their offspring from last year were lean and muscular, with long teeth and sharp claws...and sharper eyesight.
She crouched in the heavy coniferous forest, waiting patiently. The morning turned to midday before she caught the smell of prey, and she turned her massive head towards the breeze, sniffing it like you or I might smell a rose. Yes, instantly her poise changed from casual to aware, huge leg muscles flexed...but she did not move from her position...here, she was perfectly camouflaged, the dappled hide melding into the fog and forest around her.
They were coming from downstream, heading up towards the large feeding plains around the bend from where she was hidden, cautiously splashing and looking from side to side, the Hadrosaurs came in a tightly knit group, a large male in front, the young boxed in to protect them from the predators.
She watched them pass, never blinking, just monitoring the movement...a large lungfish splashed about in the shallows, disturbed from it's basking in the sun by the movement of the huge vegetarians.
The herd slowed, somewhat uneasy about the sound, and a smell they could barely detect...a smell of blood.
With a roar, she burst from her ambush sight, tearing across the mossy ground in huge leaping strides, and jumping into the water, plunged fully into the confused herd. The buck was too far away to defend any of the members, since she had attacked from the rear, and it was all he could do to keep the rest together as she bent down to sniff the neck of the large female she had brought down with one bite, severing the neck almost completely.
The blood washed down the stream...soon, the scavengers would come with the scent of meat. She ate her fill quickly, since the young would be looking forward to the regurgitated chunks of warm flesh, and dragged the rest of the corpse up onto the bank. A loud trumpeting roar announced to her kin that there was a kill to feed on, and Sheila slowly plodded back across the mossy bank, towards the nest, and home.
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