 The debate about whether Tyrannosaurus was a predator or a pure scavenger is as old as the debate about its locomotion . Lambe ( 1917 ) described a good skeleton of Tyrannosaurus ’ close relative Gorgosaurus and concluded that it and therefore also Tyrannosaurus was a pure scavenger , because the Gorgosaurus ’ teeth showed hardly any wear . This argument is no longer taken seriously , because theropods replaced their teeth quite rapidly . Ever since the first discovery of Tyrannosaurus most scientists have agreed that it was a predator , although like modern large predators it would have been happy to scavenge or steal another predator 's kill if it had the opportunity . 
