- 5 months ago
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Documentary, Chased by Dinosaurs (2) The Giant Claw
#Documentary #Dinosaurs
#Documentary #Dinosaurs
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00I am zoologist and adventurer Nigel Marvin for years I've crisscrossed the globe in search of
00:11the most dangerous animals alive today but just imagine a prehistoric Safari my dream is to meet
00:21the largest and most extraordinary creatures that have ever lived to travel back in time and walk with
00:31dinosaurs
01:01so this was the start of my prehistoric Safari my adventure into the world of dinosaurs but I
01:22wasn't here to just sightsee I had a mystery to solve look at this this is the claw of
01:30Tyrannosaurus Rex the most notorious flesh eater ever known so if this is the claw of T-rex what
01:40is this a 28 inch claw when it was first discovered by paleontologists in the 1950s it was so extraordinary
01:51they thought it was the rib of a giant turtle but later it was found that it was attached to 10
01:58foot arms the longest arms of any creature ever found and paleontologists called the creature
02:06Theracinosaurus this was it my first dinosaur encounter
02:24my tent had been flattened by a gigantic herbivore called syrolophus at 40 feet long the biggest plant
02:34eater in the area there was something very unusual about these creatures that I wanted to get on camera
02:42but first I had to get very very close
02:49this is the biggest herbivore I've ever seen she must be nearly eight tons she must have to pack in so much vegetation
03:01that's what makes duckbill special they're one of the few dinosaurs that can actually chew no dinosaurs can move their jaws like we can but what the duckbills do they've got a battery of teeth there can be over 2000 teeth in that mouth and they slam the lower jaw into the upper jaw the bones distort and they grind the vegetation between that battery of teeth these are the most beautiful
03:08I don't believe it I don't believe it dinosaur snot
03:13I don't believe it dinosaur snot
03:15they're one of the few dinosaurs that can actually chew
03:17no dinosaurs can move their jaws like we can but what the duckbills do they've got a battery of teeth there can be over 2000 teeth in that mouth and they slam the lower jaw into the upper jaw the bones distort and they grind the vegetation between that battery of teeth these are fabulous
03:31I don't believe it dinosaur snot thank you
03:46that was a terrific start to the expedition even though those brilliant duckbills actually trashed my tent but this of course is the reason I'm here the best guess by scientists is this belong to a country
04:00is this belong to a kind of theropod dinosaur that's the dynasty of dinosaurs that includes all the carnivorous ones and just imagine a predator with claws like this and I'm in just the right place to find the owner of that giant claw this is the Nemec desert and I'm on the eastern side of the giant continent of Laurasia in the late Cretaceous that's 75 million years ago
04:27in the 21st century the arrangement of continents is very different and where I am now will be present day Mongolia
04:34I don't know if I'm going to find claws I don't know what I'm going to see but whatever happens this is going to be a cracking adventure
04:44It's a cracking adventure
05:14a nesting colony of protoceratops. These were seen common in the Nemec desert 75 million
05:34years ago. Some paleontologists call these the sheet of the Cretaceous. Although these
05:41are little vegetarians, they're about seven feet long. They've got really powerful beaks and by the
05:48look of them, a bite from one of those could snap an arm or a leg. Those jaws are really formidable
06:04but I've got to get through the nesting colony and over to the other side there's some lush rainforest
06:09there and that may be the home of the giant claw. But to do it I'm going to take a calculated
06:17risk. The dinosaurs closest relatives, the birds and the crocodilians, they can see well in colour
06:25and if I use this the protoceratops may be deflected away from me and they'll follow the flag.
06:35So? Let's see if it works.
06:51Whoa!
06:53Ah, close one!
06:55Behind you, Nigel!
07:05Oh my lord!
07:15This area of the Nemec desert is called a productive dune system. These great big dunes and then sandwiched
07:31in between this verdant rain forest. It's windy here, you can see the sand grains whipping off the top. These dunes are marching. So every now and then the forests are swamped and then eventually a new forest grows. So there's always new growth here for dinosaurs. And this is the first forest I've found. And this is the first forest I've found. And this is the first forest I've found.
07:49And hopefully down there, there's big carnivorous dinosaurs.
08:05This is a perfect dinosaur forest. There's cycads fertile forest.
08:25This is a perfect dinosaur forest, there's cycads, ferns and these conifers, some of
08:37them can soar 200 feet into the air.
08:55I keep getting glimpses of fast moving dinosaurs in the vegetation along this creek and I think
09:23it's a pack of hunting velociraptors, I don't know if they're hunting yet.
09:38I soon found out my hunch was right, moving through the trees there were 6 or 7 velociraptors.
09:45They're 6 feet long and they're pretty lethal predators but they're not interested in me,
09:52I think they're stalking bigger prey and I'm going to try to follow them.
10:12There's their prey, that's what they've been after. A big male protoceratops, he's badly wounded already.
10:21If I circle round, if I'm careful, I should be able to get right next to the kill.
10:28As I got closer, I saw how the velociraptors used those lethal claws on their toes.
10:34This reminds me of a pack of African hunting dogs. In action they attack persistently and for both the velociraptors and the dogs, the end result is the same. The prey dies from loss of blood and exhaustion.
10:41The prey dies from loss of blood and exhaustion.
10:48The protoceratops is dead now. Not by the way.
10:50The protoceratops is dead now. Not by the way.
10:51The protoceratops is dead now.
10:55They're not paying any attention to me. They're totally focused on feeding.
11:02I've done this with tigers around a kill.
11:09So I think I can move closer.
11:10I've done this with tigers around a kill. So I think I can move closer.
11:16Predators are often at risk when they tackle much longer.
11:23prey, and the protoceratops fought back.
11:38predators are often at risk when they tackle much larger prey and the
11:48protoceratops fought back there's a velociraptor over there with a broken
11:55arm must have been snapped by the protoceratops beak I've pushed this far
12:03enough now it's dangerous here in this dense forest and they may start paying
12:09attention to me it's time to go
12:24it was getting late and I needed to find a safe place to set up camp
12:33the forest was teeming with strange animals but not all as exotic as
12:41dinosaurs there we are a really familiar face scorpions were around 200 million
12:49years before the first dinosaur and of course they're still around in the 21st
12:54century so they've been on the earth for a staggering 400 million years I've got
13:01one of these as a pet at home so I'm going to keep this one as a little reminder
13:08as darkness closed in I began to feel just a little anxious unfortunately there was nowhere else to go
13:36but my tent this was certainly not going to be a quiet night
13:46Nigel
14:01is
14:03thank goodness for that
14:12I've seen these in my book I've seen these in my book they're called
14:15mononychus I can't be more than about six feet long and they feed mainly on insects
14:22so they shouldn't be after me instead I decided to go after them and catch my first dinosaur
14:30over there
14:37over there
14:45they're flipping fast
14:52I've got one at last
14:55I've got one at last
14:58he's struggling a bit
15:00he may be an insect eater but there's some razor sharp teeth in there
15:06I've got my fingers at the base of the jaw just like with a venomous snake but if I can get there
15:16that should calm him down keep the eyes covered and this is what I caught him for
15:21as near as damn it feathers you think reptiles have all got scales maybe these are just raggedy scales
15:28you can see why paleontologists think these
15:33theropod dinosaurs that's the carnivorous line why they're in the same lineage as the birds this is like a giant chicken or something
15:43it was an amazing moment wrestling with a dinosaur but I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on for long
15:52away you go
15:54ah look at that
15:56I either spiked myself or stupidly put my finger on one of those teeth
16:13the next morning I checked on my scorpion
16:20they've eaten it Nigel
16:22ah go on
16:27there's lots of dinosaur distractions
16:30I've seen no evidence at all
16:33of the giant claw
16:35perhaps this habitat's just too dense
16:37perhaps there's not enough herbivores
16:40for it to prey on
16:42I've got a long way to go but if I can get through there
16:45maybe there's some more open habitat
16:48on the other side
17:04I came out of the dense forest to this scrubbier habitat
17:08and I've found our first real clue
17:11I think this is the nest of the giant claw
17:14it's been broken into
17:15there's monitor lizards here
17:17fossils have been found
17:18and monitors in Africa
17:19they break into crocodile nests
17:21perhaps that's what's happened here
17:23but look at what I found inside
17:27this must be the embryo of Therizinosaurus
17:31the giant claw
17:33even as a little baby inside the shell
17:36you can see the claws there
17:38at the front of the body
17:40but if this is a nest site
17:42it's really curious
17:44because look at this
17:47this is herbivore dung
17:51it's not carnivore dung
17:53look inside there
17:54there's pine needles
17:55bits of cycad
17:57smells like a herbivore
18:00and I can't understand
18:02why this is all scattered around here
18:04around the nest site
18:07of the giant claw
18:09which must be a predator
18:15I'd been tracking for almost two days
18:18yet I wasn't any nearer to understanding my quarry
18:21there was nothing else
18:23but to continue my search
18:25through this extraordinary land
18:28this is dangerous
18:50there is a huge predator
18:53over there
18:55it must be a Tyrannosaurus
18:58that's the ancient cousin
19:00of Tyrannosaurus rex
19:02on any safari you want to see the top predator
19:05but I'm not keen
19:06on this
19:07this is so huge
19:0940 feet long
19:10the wind's blowing towards us
19:12and that's good
19:16he's coming towards us
19:17quick
19:18really good hearing
19:19turn that off
19:20quick
19:25one
19:27one
19:30two
19:32and
19:33over
19:35there
19:36they go
19:38about
19:40where they'll be
19:41at once
19:42they Beim
19:43are
19:46and
19:47the
19:48it's
19:50well
19:51yeah
19:53Tarbosaurus. Scary but a thrill. It's the biggest carnivore around here because they
20:02stand tall, stand vertically, tiny limbs at the front help balance that massive head with
20:09that huge skull and those massive teeth for making devastating bites into prey and pulling
20:16out chunks of flesh. I am never going to forget that view.
20:28It was time to change my tactics. Across the scrubland were several large freshwater lakes.
20:34Instead of searching for Claus, I'd wait for him to come to me.
20:43This is beautiful. On any safari, you look for the waterhole, they're a magnet for animals
20:50and on a dinosaur safari, it's no different. And this must be the best chance for me to
20:56find evidence of the giant claw.
21:00The thing about waterholes being a magnet for wildlife, the predators know that too. In
21:16Africa, lions wait for zebras coming to drink. This could be a Tarbosaurus coming down waiting
21:23for larger prey. So we have really got to watch our step here.
21:30Look what I found. A claw. I think it's a Therizinosaurus. And there is a whole skeleton.
21:39Let's see what else I can find. Let's have a look. There we go. That's pretty heavy.
21:56Look at the size of it. I'm six foot two and it actually dwarfs me. And this is just the
22:03front leg. And to be truthful, I'm actually a little nervous about meeting a creature
22:09with claws like this. They must be for disembowelling prey. But the more I get closer to the mystery
22:16of Therizinosaurus, the more I get confused. Look at these.
22:21I found these amongst the bones. They're not the teeth of a meat-eater. They're leaf-shaped
22:27and serrated. That suggests they're designed for slicing through vegetation.
22:33And earlier, when I found the nest, there was also that herbivorous dung there. So I just
22:39don't know what's going on with this amazing creature.
22:45I found these. Velociraptors, and they're paying attention to us.
22:51Nigel!
22:53Come on, get going.
22:59Come on.
23:01Come on.
23:05Come on.
23:09Come on.
23:13Come on.
23:21I've got an idea which may work.
23:27And this is a bicycle horn I bought from home. And let's see what happens.
23:35Just as I thought, Velociraptors like most animals. They don't like loud noises.
23:41Are you okay? Do you want a hand with yours?
23:57Can you hear that? There's a terrific kerfuffle.
24:01And I think... I think by the way...
24:03Shhh.
24:09Shhh.
24:11Starbysaurus, get down.
24:13What... is that?
24:23I don't believe it.
24:25At last, there's claws.
24:27Therazinosaurus. I could never have even imagined anything like that. Tiny head and those great claws at the front.
24:41It's the oddest of dinosaurs.
24:43It's the oddest of dinosaurs.
24:59Tarbysaurus.
25:01He's noticed...
25:03Two...
25:05Normally big predators avoid each other.
25:07But it looks like...
25:09There could be a clash and we better...
25:11Get undercover.
25:13Ouch, Beau.
25:21...
25:23...
25:25No sound.
25:55It was an awesome fight, but Tarbosaurus eventually backed down, and I got a chance to sneak out and observe the Therizinosaurus.
26:16I was in for a surprise. A whole herd of them appeared from the forest and started browsing on the trees.
26:25Now everything adds up. Those teeth scattered in the skeleton, they were the teeth of a herbivore.
26:31The dung crammed with plant vegetation at the nest site.
26:36Therizinosaurus, it's a plant eater, not a predator.
26:39Look at them now, they're using those giant claws to drag leaves towards their mouths.
26:44Those great long necks for reaching out for vegetation, and those pot bellies, those are great fermentation chambers.
26:52For the tons of vegetation they have to eat.
26:57I want to get really close, but of course herbivores of this size, they're not safe.
27:04But hopefully, because of my smell, I smell like a mammal.
27:08I won't be attacked. The only mammals around at this time are really, really small, rat-like mammals.
27:14So they shouldn't be threatened by me.
27:19At least that was the theory.
27:22As far as I could see, those huge claws weren't for killing things,
27:26although they clearly discouraged that huge Tarbosaurus.
27:30In fact, these seem quite gentle creatures, and this gave me an idea.
27:37Something that would bring my quest for the giant claw to a natural end.
27:44They seem completely oblivious, even if I speak quite loudly.
27:48So I'm going to go even closer and see if I can touch one.
27:53I'm going to go even closer and see if I can touch one.
28:23I'm going to go even closer and see if I can touch one.
28:53I'm going to go even closer and see if I can touch one.
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