- 2 days ago
Documentary, Chased by Dinosaurs (1) Land of Giants - Part 1
#Dinosaurs #Documentary
#Dinosaurs #Documentary
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00I am zoologist and adventurer, Nigel Marvin.
00:09I've spent my whole life searching the world for the largest animals alive today.
00:17But I've always wanted to meet the ultimate giants.
00:21To go on a prehistoric safari amongst the largest land animals ever.
00:30To travel back in time and walk with dinosaurs.
01:00Just imagine that this line here represents 225 million years BC.
01:19The time when dinosaurs first evolved.
01:21Right over here, this represents 65 million years BC.
01:25The time when the great reptiles became extinct.
01:29And I'm precisely here.
01:31100 million years BC in the early Cretaceous.
01:35This magical place will one day become Argentina.
01:39I've always wanted to come here because the dinosaurs that live around here, they're the biggest ever.
01:46This is the skeleton of an Argentinosaurus, the largest land animal that ever lived.
01:53Look at it, it must be over 100 feet long.
02:00Even so, some of these massive skulls, they've got puncture marks in them from formidable and dagger-like teeth.
02:07What sort of predatory dinosaur could take out prey as large as this?
02:28It can't have been T-Rex, they haven't evolved yet.
02:31It was a predator that was even larger.
02:35So this is the setting for some titanic battles.
02:40The biggest prey of all time.
02:43The biggest predator of all time.
02:47Just imagine a hunt like that.
02:50And it happens here every year.
02:56Any day now, this area, just a mile from our camp, will witness an extraordinary influx of giant dinosaurs.
03:04Every year, a herd of Argentinosaurus visits this lake.
03:08And every year, giant predators gather to hunt them down.
03:12This is such a special place, because the Argentinosaurus, they come here to lay their eggs.
03:19This shore on the edge of the lake, it is the perfect nursery for them.
03:25Look, there's eggshells scattered all over the place here.
03:28That gives you a good idea of what these huge animals hatch out from.
03:35Quite small beginnings.
03:37The full egg is about the size of a football.
03:39This is exactly as I suspected.
03:44Look, the females, they come here year after year, because this is the perfect place for them to lay their eggs.
03:50And I can't wait until the herd come back to lay their eggs for this season.
03:56But the first dinosaur I spotted here was hardly a giant.
04:06At least not yet.
04:08This can't be anything else.
04:13It's a young Argentinosaurus.
04:16Just three or four years old.
04:19Stayed around the nesting area.
04:21There must be good food for her.
04:22Here she's too young to travel with the herd.
04:25It's amazing to think, if she survives, she'll grow up to be as large as those skeletons that I saw.
04:33Even standing next to a baby was quite an experience.
04:47What on earth would it be like to get close to an adult Argentinosaurus?
04:51Some 60 times the weight of this one.
04:54I could hardly imagine it.
05:03Flipping heck.
05:05I'm smiling.
05:07Because of the shock of that.
05:11It scared me out of my skin.
05:14I'm pretty sure I know what it is.
05:16It's not a crocodile, even though it looks like one.
05:19But it's a close cousin of the crocodiles.
05:22Called Sarcosuchus.
05:23It grows much bigger than crocodiles.
05:27I'm not mad.
05:28This is a calculated risk.
05:31Sarcosuchus should behave like it's modern relatives to the crocodiles and alligators.
05:37And I've done this with one.
05:40What I'm worried about, it's got some mates around here.
05:44As long as you keep your eyes open.
05:50Come on.
05:51Come on.
05:53These are the sort of splashings that prey would make.
05:57I just saw a swell.
05:58Get back.
05:59He's coming.
06:01Closer.
06:05Come on.
06:06What a stupendous reptile.
06:15He must be over 40 feet long.
06:22And he'll be a real threat to the herd.
06:25When they come up the valley to the nesting site, the Sarcosuchus will be waiting for them.
06:29So the young Argentinosaurus, they could be taken by this creature.
06:36He's basking on the bank now.
06:38I've done this before with a 12 foot alligator.
06:40Put a mini cam on my head and looked right inside the mouth.
06:44And the principle should be the same.
06:47With a 40 foot Sarcosuchus.
06:53I'm just feet away from a 40 foot Sarcosuchus.
06:57Not my stick.
06:59It's not that much defence.
07:01That's a great view of the teeth with the head cam.
07:06You watch this.
07:07The mouth is open.
07:08But I'm just going to gently touch that mouth.
07:11To not touch that mouth.
07:18Yeah.
07:20No!
07:21Yeah.
07:22No!
07:23It's not set to the unserem.
07:24Not your own.
07:25No!
07:26No!
07:27No!
07:28No!
07:29No!
07:30No!
07:31No!
07:32No!
07:33No!
07:34No!
07:35No!
07:36you can't just sit around and wait this is an active way to look for the herd if i can get
07:48high should be able to see for miles and get a view of them if they're anywhere near here
07:54at last some dinosaurs
08:09it's not the herd i'm looking for i'm pretty certain these are kind of iguanodon but these are very
08:16successful dinosaurs they've been around for 45 million years they'll be around for another 30
08:22million years 75 million years on the earth and they colonized every single continent
08:41my search for the elusive giants was taking me an increasing distance from the lakeside
08:46to find their migration room i even went as far as the ocean
09:00i've come all this way to find this coastline is just too steep for big animals
09:07as i was saying for big animals like argentinosaurus to move along
09:10but this was a perfect habitat for another kind of oversized reptiles which was obviously thriving
09:20here pterosaurs
09:25this is one of the most thrilling sights in the prehistoric world there's pteranodon soaring all
09:31around me and i've sneaked up to this one he's just digesting a fish meal and i'm just eight feet away
09:38and it's only when you get this close you realize just how huge they really are this one the wingspan
09:47it's a big male it would be over 20 feet from wing tip to wing tip so how the flying creatures like
09:54this get to be so huge it's because everything about them is designed to be lightweight the bones are hollow
10:02and these membranous wings the only support is these thin and flexible rods they're more like bats wings than bird wings
10:13being so big it's difficult for pterosaurs to take off
10:17that's why these sorts of habitats cliffs and canyons you find them here most often
10:22because they must rely on the prevailing winds to literally take them off
10:36i hadn't found the giant dinosaurs but they had found me
10:50what the heck
11:00flipping hell
11:01a big animal here look at those slash marks the whole place has been trashed look at this quick
11:16a dinosaur tooth trying to bite into this can of meat and it is a massive one
11:25there must have been a very big predator in here
11:31there must have been a very big predator in here
11:42didn't sleep a wink
11:45you expect it on dinosaur safaris
11:50i was petrified i never thought i'd be scared
11:55we've rigged up this sort of device an early warning system
12:01and maybe that would have frightened it away but look at the damage i mean it's just scared me witless
12:11this is even more terrifying in the daylight look at that for a tooth
12:17there's still dinosaur gum attached but i'll tell you something the predator won't miss this
12:23dinosaurs they're like sharks and alligators if they crunch into something that's too hard
12:28these teeth are specially designed to be lost and some dinosaurs they can go through 500 teeth
12:36in a lifetime but that is a formidable weapon
12:41we're tracking the predator it's a trail of trampled vegetation led down to this river bed
12:56no more plants to tread on here but it's still an easy trail to follow look at that for a dinosaur footprint
13:02and whenever you're following a big animal you don't want to surprise them
13:11it triggers my eyes a skin but any tree every shadow seems to be a big dinosaur
13:20look at that three of my size 11s in just one toe but the stride pattern it's changed around here
13:35there's not such a big gap in between the prints it's either stopped and listened or looked or smelt
13:43maybe it's stalking something
13:53we're a few miles from camp and there was a terrific noise a tremendous kerfuffle just overhead as if
13:59animals were chasing each other or fighting something's definitely happening come on
14:13the trail of blood led me to a badly wounded iguana don't
14:22this must have been what all that commotion was about look at that injury it's either been bitten
14:44or clawed and luckily they can recover from injuries that would kill a mammal
14:49and hopefully she's going to be all right
14:55the predator can't be far away now a little scary but it must be magnificent there's more blood here
15:06that is very fresh and there's another drop
15:10just a little further on i came face to face with the killer there it was the biggest land predator ever
15:23with a dead iguanodont at its feet couldn't be anything else a giganotosaurus
15:28paleontologists reckon that that predator weighs two tons more than t-rex that must have been wrecked
15:39the campsite that shouldn't wrap a bit but really it's good news these big dinosaur predators they
15:46wait for the herbivores just like crocodiles waiting at river crossings in africa and because
15:51he's here the herd of argentinosaurus they can't be far away
16:06time to bring in some 21st century technology
16:24so
16:37so
16:43I can't believe this, they all run on every winter, there's a pterosaur, he-hey!
16:59I've seen this with vultures, they're not frightened by the noise, that is fantastic, flying with pterosaurs.
17:13I can't believe it, it's the biggest pterosaur ever, one of the carless, we've got a wingspan of 26 feet in this ultralight, they've got a wingspan of 40 feet!
17:39And look at that gliding, that's the biggest creature that's ever flown!
17:45There, that's what we've been looking for, there's the herd down there, and they are massive, even from up here, even from a few hundred feet, they look huge!
18:13Look at the pterosaur's eye view of Argentinosaurus, there's at least a dozen down there!
18:43The pterosaur's eye view of Argentinosaurus and a plane felt musste, indeed!
18:49Lost a plane view of L.O.R.D.
18:53The pterosaur's eye view of an artist in Rome, he can see the death of L.O.R.R.
18:55I have just flown with the biggest creature that's ever flown.
19:24And most importantly, we've located the herd.
19:28They were going that way.
19:30There's another big volcanic lava field.
19:33And I want to see them on the ground.
19:37At last, this is what we've been waiting for.
19:40And we have got to hurry.
19:49This was the herd all right.
19:51Now just 20 miles from the nesting site by the lake.
19:54And here was my chance to do a bit of dino science.
20:14The herd are just over there.
20:16They're coming this way.
20:18I want to try a little experiment.
20:19And I've got to work fast.
20:22Paleontologists think Argentinosaurus.
20:24It was the heaviest creature ever to walk on the land.
20:28And this is an opportunity to corroborate that.
20:30To actually weigh a dinosaur.
20:32These are weighing pads for lorries.
20:39They're a bit more robust than your normal bathroom scales.
20:42And if I can get them in position, if the dinosaurs will walk on these, I can weigh them.
20:48Given the size of the Argentinosaurus, it would take quite a few plates to cover a big enough section of ground.
21:03Wired together, these should work like one big weighing machine.
21:07This is working like a dream.
21:32They're funneling through the gap.
21:34The whole herd is going through there.
21:36And all we need now is for one to step on those plates.
21:40Come on.
21:44You just missed.
21:45There was just one foot on a plate there.
21:47And they're all four feet.
21:48Come on, there's one coming right in line.
21:59Yes, I think he's on the spot.
22:01Let me check that.
22:03Yes, 92 tonnes.
22:05That's about as much as 30 African elephants.
22:11The herd was now entering the most dangerous phase of their migration.
22:15Between them and the nesting site, fearsome predatory heavyweights were lying in wait.
22:29After yesterday's weigh-in, we left the Argentinosaurus herd.
22:33Somewhere near here, they were skirting the edge of this forest, heading east towards the nesting grounds.
22:39They can't move very fast, so hopefully we can intercept them.
22:43Look at your arm, Don.
22:52That is beautiful.
22:55Gorgeous moves so beautifully.
22:59Watch out.
23:00Look at that behind.
23:03Look at that.
23:04There he goes.
23:08Come on.
23:10What a monster.
23:12Well, my heart is still hammering.
23:32Having a big predatory dinosaur virtually breathing down your neck.
23:36That was terrifying.
23:41It gives you a tiny idea of what it's like to be an Argentinosaurus.
23:46Every time this brilliant herd goes to its breeding grounds, they have to run a gauntlet of these big predators.
23:53There's five or six giganotosaurus, and they are trailing the back of the herd.
23:58They're looking really interested.
24:13But what I was about to witness would be nothing like the explosive pursuits of lions-hunting zebras.
24:20It doesn't feel like it, but we've been following the herd and the attacking giganotosaurus for over an hour now.
24:35They've selected a victim.
24:36It's a young female, I think.
24:37What they've been doing is they've been running into the herd, testing for weaknesses.
24:42And now, I think the hunt's going to start in earnest.
24:43This is getting very serious.
24:44This is getting very serious.
24:49Go, go, go!
25:19I kept following the herd as they slowly made their way towards the lake.
25:34Time after time after time, the Giganotosaurus attacked the female, trying to separate her
25:41off from the rest of the herd.
25:44This hunt's gone on a remarkably long time, virtually the whole day, and they are relentlessly
25:49pursuing that young female.
25:51They're biting her, they're trying to wear her down from blood loss and exhaustion.
25:56Working as a team, the Giganotosaurus can tackle large prey items like this, and if they can
26:02bring down this young Argentinosaurus, they won't need to feed again for two or three
26:06months.
26:07The ultimate hunt.
26:08This is what we came all this way to do.
26:09The ultimate hunt.
26:14This is what we came all this way for.
26:21Now it's just too harrowing.
26:29You can hear the distress calls of the Argentinosaurus.
26:46She's trapped somewhere down there.
26:48They just go right through you.
26:51It's just about too dark to film anymore.
26:54And for once, I'm pleased about that.
27:01For one of them is scary.
27:04Food is over, it's pretty dangerous, and we're rather European.
27:13It's terrifyingly like her dad.
27:16In the last chase...
27:19Have all been absolutely well done.
27:22This is why I didn't win.
27:24We're not going everywhere.
27:28this is a magical end to my dinosaur safari the drive to breed is why the argentinosaurus
27:49herd make that a perilous journey and this is why they do it the females they're all
27:56leg laying I don't want to get too close don't want to disturb them and I'd hate to get caught in a stampede
28:26there's no place or time that's quite like this look at them how do I feel when you're next to
28:48giant dinosaurs it makes you feel so incredibly small
28:52watch out
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