Balrog 'v' Moria orcs

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Hmmm...were there "countless orcs" in Moria? If so, what did they eat?
I can't recall any given number. And as far as Orcs being strategic and thinking ahead, I don't believe there are many cases where Orcs displayed Napoleonic stratagems to defeat a foe, particularly one like a Balrog who, of course, is a Maia -- and one with wings!

Chicken wings are a deadly weapon when it comes to food fights, true.

(And that indeed explains what the orcs would have eaten!)




Seriously, though - what would even one orc eat in Moria? If you can find food for one, you can find food for two. I thought Moria was absolutely barren in that sense, and if they got fresh food at all, it was from hunting on moonless nights. I don't see why you can't feed many many many orcs that way. They don't seem to gorge themselves on food, and it's possible to hunt without depleting the region of wildlife.