- 16 hours ago
Documentary, Chased by Dinosaurs (2) The Giant Claw
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AnimalsTranscript
00:03I 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 dinosaurs
01:14so this was the start of my prehistoric Safari my adventure into the world of
01:21dinosaurs but I wasn't here to just sightsee I had a mystery to solve look at this this is the
01:30claw of Tyrannosaurus Rex the most notorious flesh eater ever known so if this is the claw of T-Rex
01:39what is this a 28 inch claw when it was first discovered by paleontologists in the 1950s it
01:50was so extraordinary they thought it was the rib of a giant turtle but later it was found that it
01:56was attached to ten foot arms the longest arms of any creature ever found and paleontologists called
02:05the creature Theracinosaurus this was it my first dinosaur encounter my tent had been flattened by a gigantic
02:29herbivore called syrolophus at 40 feet long the biggest plant eater in the area there was something very unusual
02:39about these creatures that I wanted to get on camera but first I had to get very very close this
02:53is the biggest
02:54herbivore I've ever seen she must be nearly eight tons she must have to pack in so much vegetation
03:06that's what makes duckbills special they're one of the few dinosaurs that can actually chew
03:11no dinosaurs can move their jaws like we can but what the duckbills do they've got a battery of teeth
03:18there can be over 2 000 teeth in that mouth and they slam the lower jaw into the upper jaw
03:24the bones
03:25distort and they grind the vegetation between that battery of teeth these are fabulous oh I don't believe
03:36it dinosaur snot thank you that was a terrific start to the expedition even though those brilliant
03:51duckbills actually trashed my tent but this of course is the reason I'm here the best guess by
03:59scientists is this belong to a kind of theropod dinosaur that's the dynasty of dinosaurs that
04:05includes all the carnivorous ones and just imagine a predator with claws like this and I'm in just
04:13the right place to find the owner of that giant claw this is the Nemec desert and I'm on the
04:20eastern
04:21side of the giant continent of lurasia in the late cretaceous that's 75 million years ago in the 21st
04:28century the arrangement of continents is very different and where I am now will be present-day
04:34Mongolia I don't know if I'm going to find claws I don't know what I'm going to see but whatever
04:40happens this is going to be a cracking adventure
05:25a nesting colony of protoceratops these were so common in the Nemec desert 75 million years ago some paleontologists call
05:37these the sheet of the cretaceous
05:41birds although these are little vegetarians they're about seven feet long they've got really powerful beaks and by the look
05:48of them a bite from one of those you can snap an arm or a leg
06:02those jaws are really formidable but I've got to get through the nesting colony and over to the other
06:08side there's some lush rainforest there and that may be the home of the giant claw but to do it
06:14I'm gonna take a calculated risk the dinosaurs closest relatives the birds and the crocodilians they can see
06:24well in color and if I use this the protoceratops may be deflected away from me and they'll follow the
06:35flag
06:35so let's see if it works
06:58behind you Nigel
07:08oh my lord
07:24oh my lord
07:34This area of the Nemeck desert is called a productive dune system.
07:39These great big dunes and then sandwiched in between this verdant rain forest.
07:44It's windy here, you can see the sand grains whipping off the top.
07:48These dunes are marching so every now and then the forests are swamped and then eventually
07:54a new forest grows so there's always new growth here for dinosaurs.
07:58And this is the first forest I've found and hopefully down there there's big carnivorous
08:05dinosaurs.
08:31This is a perfect dinosaur forest.
08:34There's cycads, ferns and these conifers some of them can soar 200 feet into the air.
09:09The first forest is going to destroy our Poison.
09:10This is the first forest is going to destroy our Almaty.
09:10The next forest is going to be a great soldier of the Pflym, which is actually a
09:15I keep getting glimpses of fast-moving dinosaurs in the vegetation along this creek
09:22and I think it's a pack of hunting velociraptors.
09:26I don't know if they're hunting yet.
09:38I soon found out my hunch was right.
09:41Moving through the trees, there were six or seven velociraptors.
09:47They're six 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.
10:14That's what they've been after.
10:16A big male protoceratops.
10:19He's badly wounded already.
10:25And if I circle round, if I'm careful, I should be able to get right next to the kill.
10:41As I got closer, I saw how the velociraptors used those lethal claws on their toes.
10:49This reminds me of a pack of African hunting dogs.
10:52In action, they attack persistently and for both the velociraptors and the dogs, the end result is the same.
10:59The prey dies from loss of blood and exhaustion.
11:14The protoceratops is dead now.
11:18They're not paying any attention to me.
11:21They're totally focused on feeding.
11:25I've done this with tigers around a kill, so I think I can move closer.
11:42Predators are often at risk when they tackle much larger prey and the protoceratops fought back.
11:51There's a velociraptor over there with a broken arm.
11:55Must have been snapped by the protoceratops beak.
12:01I've pushed this far enough now.
12:04It's dangerous here in this dense forest and they may start paying attention to me.
12:10It's time to go.
12:25It was getting late and I needed to find a safe place to set up camp.
12:35The forest was teeming with strange animals, but not all as exotic as dinosaurs.
12:42Here we are, a really familiar face.
12:46Scorpions were around 200 million years before the first dinosaur.
12:51And of course, they're still around in the 21st century.
12:55So they've been on the earth for a staggering 400 million years.
13:00I've got one of these as a pet at home.
13:03So I'm going to keep this one as a little reminder.
13:09Come on then.
13:28As darkness closed in, I began to feel just a little anxious.
13:33Unfortunately, there was nowhere else to go but my tent.
13:42This was certainly not going to be a quiet night.
14:01Nigel!
14:03Is...
14:10Thank goodness for that.
14:12I've seen these in my book.
14:14They're called Mononychus.
14:17They can't be more than about six feet long.
14:19And they feed mainly on insects, so they shouldn't be after me.
14:25Instead, I decided to go after them and catch my first dinosaur.
14:37Over there!
14:52They're flipping fast!
14:57I've got one at last!
15:00He's struggling a bit.
15:01Calm down.
15:04He may be an insect eater, but there's some razor sharp teeth in there.
15:09I've got my fingers at the base of the jaw, just like with a venomous snake.
15:13But if I can get there, that should calm him down, keep the eyes covered.
15:19And this is what I caught him for.
15:21As near as damn it, feathers.
15:24You think reptiles have all got scales.
15:26Maybe these are just raggedy scales.
15:29You can see why paleontologists think these theropod dinosaurs, that's the carnivorous line,
15:37why they're in the same lineage as the birds.
15:40This is like a giant chicken or something.
15:44It was an amazing moment, wrestling with a dinosaur.
15:48But 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.
16:16The next morning, I checked on my scorpion.
16:19They've eaten it, Nigel.
16:22Ah, go on.
16:27There's lots of dinosaur distractions.
16:30I've seen no evidence at all of the giant claw.
16:35Perhaps this habitat's just too dense.
16:37Perhaps there's not enough herbivores for 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 on the other side.
17:04I came out of the dense forest to this scrubbier habitat,
17:07and I've found our first real clue.
17:11I think this is the nest of the giant claw.
17:14It's been broken into.
17:16There's monitor lizards here.
17:17Fossils have been found.
17:18And monitors in Africa, they 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, the giant claw.
17:32Even as a little baby inside the shell,
17:36you can see the claws there at the front of the body.
17:40But if this is a nest site, it's really curious.
17:44Because look at this.
17:49This is herbivore dung.
17:51It's not carnivore dung.
17:53Look inside there.
17:54There's pine needles, bits of cycad.
17:58Smells like a herbivore.
18:00And I can't understand why this is all scattered around here,
18:05around the nest site of 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.
18:22There was nothing else but to continue my search
18:25through this extraordinary land.
18:48This is dangerous.
18:50There is a huge predator.
18:53Over there.
18:55It must be a Tardonsaurus.
18:58That's the ancient cosmos.
19:00Tyrannosaurus rex.
19:02On any safari you want to see the top predator,
19:05but I'm not keen on 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.
19:17Okay.
19:18I've already got Aaron.
19:19Turn that off.
19:19Quick.
19:28Let's go.
19:48This is so nice.
19:54A tarbosaurus, 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.
20:27It 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.
21:08The thing about waterholes being a magnet for wildlife, the predators know that too. In Africa,
21:16lions wait for zebras coming to drink. This could be a tarbosaurus coming down, waited for larger prey.
21:25So, we have really got to watch our step here.
21:32Look what I found. A claw. I think it's a therazinosaurus and there is a whole skeleton.
21:41Let's see what else I can find. Let's have a look. There we go. That's pretty heavy.
21:55Look at the size of it. I'm six foot two and it actually dwarfs me and this is just the
22:03front leg.
22:04And to be truthful, I'm actually a little nervous about meeting a creature with claws like this.
22:10They must be for disembowelling prey. But the more I get closer to the mystery of therazinosaurus,
22:17the more I get confused. Look at these. I found these amongst the bones. They're not the teeth of
22:26a meat-eater. They're leaf-shaped and serrated. That suggests they're designed for slicing through
22:31vegetation. And earlier, when I found the nest, there was also that herbivorous dung there. So,
22:39I just don't know what's going on with this amazing creature.
22:47Velociraptors, and they're paying attention to us.
22:52Nigel!
22:58Come on, get gaining!
23:21I've got an idea which may work.
23:28And 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.
23:42Are you okay? Do you want a hand with yours?
23:57Can you hear that? There's a terrific kerfuffle. And I think, by the way, it's...
24:04I think, by the way, it's...
24:09Shh! Stop us, Horus! Get down!
24:30What is that?
24:35I don't believe it.
24:37At last, there's Claus, Therizinosaurus. I could never have even imagined anything like that.
24:45Tiny head, and those great claws at the front.
24:55It is the oddest of dinosaurs.
25:00Tarbosaurus, he's noticed, too. Normally, big predators avoid each other, but it looks like
25:09there could be a clash, and we better get undercover.
25:20I don't know a friend.
25:29See you next time.
25:30It's the oddest of a guy.
25:30All right.
25:31So, you got to be in the team of the team.
25:31We got to, you got a wife of the team.
25:31You got to be in the team.
25:32OK, I didn't see you.
25:38OK.
25:40You got to be in the team, belive,
25:42and you got to be in the team.
25:42And two of the team.
26:05It was an awesome fight, but Tarbosaurus eventually backed down,
26:10and I got a chance to sneak out and observe the Therizinosaurus.
26:16I was in for a surprise.
26:19A whole herd of them appeared from the forest and started browsing on the trees.
26:25Now everything adds up.
26:27Those 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.
26:38Look at them now, they're using those giant claws to drag leaves towards their mouths.
26:44Those great lung necks for reaching up for vegetation,
26:48and those pot bellies, those are great fermentation chambers for 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.
27:09The only mammals around at this time, there's 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.
27:31In fact, these seem quite gentle creatures.
27:35And this gave me an idea.
27:37Something that would bring my quest for the giant claw to a natural end.
27:43They seem completely oblivious, even if I speak quite loudly.
27:47So I'm going to go even closer and see if I can touch one.
28:22What you most about, though, is for the giant claw to the giant claw to the giant claw.
28:35But still you'll see that.
28:35And you'll see that.
28:37So you'll see the giant claw to the giant claw.
28:43But still it'll see if I can touch one more.
28:46You'll see a little more.
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