In the book's opening, the title character and her mate ambush a herd of "Astrodon", which are large herbivorous sauropods. The "Astrodon" are surprised, thinking that their bulk deters smaller predators. "Utahraptor", however, are much larger than any resident raptor, and proceed to take down an "Astrodon" with teamwork. When Red's mate climbs onto the dead "Astrodon", the corpse rolls in the mud, trapping the male under the bulk of the animal. Despite Red's best efforts, her mate suffocates. Despondent, Red wanders around the floodplain, nearly starving since a "Utahraptor" cannot successfully hunt big game on its own.