Maiasaurs are very important scientifically because they were the first species of dinosaurs that conclusively proved to researchers that some dinosaurs were social creatures that cared for their young. Even though maiasaur babies' legs were too weak for them to wander from the nest in search of food, their teeth show signs of wear. This indicates that their parents were bringing them food, probably regurgitated leaves, berries and nuts.
Scientists believe that maiasaurs lived and moved across North America in large herds.
One site in Montana contains the bones of over 10,000 maiasaurs that seem to have been overcome and buried by volcanic ash. Maiasaurs belong to a group of dinosaurs called hadrosaurs. These plant-eating dinosaurs are often called duckbill dinosaurs because their beaks were similar in shape to a duck's bill. Hadrosaurs walked on all fours but ran on their hind limbs, using their long, stiff tails to balance their large bodies. Other hadrosaurs in the ROM's permanent gallery include Parasaurolophus , Lambeosaurus and Corythosaurus .