from National Museum of Natural HIstory
1) Because they're so big and firghtening, or even small and frightening. They're something we couldn't compete with in diversity or adaptability.
2)They're also extinct. In order to think about these amazing creatures, one must stretch your creative muscles and IMAGINE them. And imagination is a wonderful and fascinating thing all by itself.
So we got dinos. Why are living animals so amazing?
1)They are alive, and we can watch them live and learn by how they act.
2)But on the downside of that, we can only learn by watching. We have no idea of what they're thinking. We can only sit in amazment as these animals live without help in an environment that we, as humans in our very nature, change.