Theories can change pretty quickly. I was reading a book today on a primate found from the Eocene. The author also talked a little about the diatryma, or gastornis. Very big, and you can see that it had quite a bit of dinosaur heritage. The author described them as a fierce predator, and the book isn't that old. The contemporary sources I've seen online have said it was probably an herbivore. Newer doesn't necessarily mean right, though.
Regardless of what it ate, I wouldn't want to go up against that beak.
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Is that Joe Rogan standing next to that creature? Nah, probably not but there is a resemblance. One could be forgiven for thinking a bird with a beak of that size wasn't a vegetarian and it may well not have been strictly so either. I was reminded of the modern day cassowary that likes fruit but will also eat whatever it finds lying around.
Now I've looked at a diatryma standing next to a guy I thought you might be interested in skimming through a Randall Carlson (he's a geologist) video that shows the megafauna of No. America as it was prior to 12,000 years ago - the Younger Dryas. He also has some images of people standing next to them for comparison.
There is a Joe Rogan resemblance, now that you mention it. The guy in the picture doesn't have any ink, though. It seems like tattoos are legally mandated in about half the states in this country, so he must live outside of them. The surviving ratites have very formidable natural weapons, so if they are hungry enough to eat meat, watch out. Same for this bird, of course.
Doing a podcast, especially with no co-host, seems to me like something that would feel strange. Nevertheless, Carlson is good at it. His tying the megafauna in to the lore of the Pawnee and other tribes is interesting. It is very likely that their earliest ancestors saw the last of the American megafauna. Which would be doubly eerie if you were new to the continent.
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