- 16 hours ago
Documentary, Chased by Dinosaurs Land of Giants - Part 1
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AnimalsTranscript
00:03I am zoologist and adventurer, Nigel Marvin.
00:09I've spent my whole life searching the world for the largest animals alive today.
00:16But I've always wanted to meet the ultimate giants.
00:21To go on a prehistoric safari amongst the largest land animals ever.
00:31To travel back in time and walk with dinosaurs.
01:22Just imagine that this line here represents 225 million years BC.
01:28The time when dinosaurs first evolved.
01:32Right over here.
01:33This represents 65 million years BC.
01:38The time when the great reptiles became extinct.
01:41And I'm precisely here.
01:45100 million years BC in the early Cretaceous.
01:49This magical place will one day become Argentina.
01:53I've always wanted to come here.
01:55Because the dinosaurs that live around here.
01:58They're the biggest ever.
02:04This is the skeleton of an Argentinosaurus.
02:07The largest land animal that ever lived.
02:10Look at it.
02:11It must be over 100 feet long.
02:13Even so, some of these massive skulls, they've got puncture marks in them from formidable and dagger-like teeth.
02:22What sort of predatory dinosaur could take out prey as large as this?
02:27It can't have been T-Rex.
02:29They haven't evolved yet.
02:30It was a predator that was even larger.
02:35So this is the setting for some titanic battles.
02:39The biggest prey of all time.
02:42The biggest predator of all time.
02:46Just imagine a hunt like that.
02:49And it happens here every year.
02:55Any day now, this area, just a mile from our camp,
02:59will 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.
03:14Because 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.
03:30That 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.
03:41This is exactly as I suspected.
03:44Look, the females, they come here year after year.
03:47Because 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.
03:56Look, there's a lot of animals.
04:01But the first dinosaur I spotted here was hardly a giant.
04:06At least not yet.
04:11This 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 here.
04:22She's too young to travel with the herd.
04:24It's amazing to think, if she survives, she'll grow up to be as large as those skeletons that I saw.
04:43Even 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.
05:02Flipping heck.
05:04I'm smiling.
05:07Because of the shock of that.
05:11It scared me out of my skin.
05:13I'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.
05:21Called Sarcosuchus.
05:23It grows much bigger than crocodiles.
05:26I'm not mad.
05:27This is a calculated risk.
05:31Sarcosuchus should behave like its modern relatives to the crocodiles and alligators.
05:36And I've done this with one.
05:40What I'm worried about is it's got some mates around here.
05:45As long as you keep your eyes open.
05:50Come on.
05:51Come on.
05:52These are the sort of splashings that prey would make.
05:56I just saw a swell.
05:58Get back.
05:59He's coming.
06:00Closer.
06:04Come on.
06:11Hey.
06:12What a stupendous reptile.
06:15He must be over 40 feet long.
06:22And he'll be a real threat to the herd.
06:24When 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.
06:35He's basking on the bank now.
06:38I've done this before with a 12-foot alligator.
06:40Put a minicam on my head and looked right inside the mouth.
06:44And the principle should be the same with a 40-foot Sarcosuchus.
06:52I'm just feet away from a 40-foot Sarcosuchus.
06:57Not my stick.
06:59It's not that much defense.
07:02That'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.
07:18Oh, God.
07:21What's up?
07:42you can't just sit around and wait this is an active way to look for the herd if I can
07:48get
07:48a high should be able to see for miles and get a view of them if they're anywhere near here
08:03at last some dinosaurs
08:09it's not the herd I'm looking for I'm pretty certain these are a kind of iguanodon
08:15but these are very successful dinosaurs they've been around for 45 million years
08:20they'll be around for another 30 million years 75 million years on the earth and they colonized
08:27every single continent
08:40my search for the elusive giants was taking me an increasing distance from the lakeside
08:50to find their migration room I even went as far as the ocean
08:59I've come all this way to find this coastline is just too steep for big animals
09:06as I was saying for big animals like argentinosaurus to move along
09:12but this was a perfect habitat for another kind of oversized reptile which was obviously thriving here
09:21pterosaurs
09:25this is one of the most thrilling sights in the prehistoric world
09:28there's pteranodon soaring all around me and I've sneaked up to this one he's just digesting a fish meal
09:36and I'm just eight feet away and it's only when you get this close you realize just how huge they
09:44really are
09:44this one the wingspan is a big male it would be over 20 feet from wingtip to wingtip
09:51so how the flying creatures like this get to be so huge
09:57it's because everything about them is designed to be lightweight
10:00the bones are hollow and these membranous wings the only support is these thin and flexible rods
10:07they're more like bats wings than bird wings
10:13being so big it's difficult for pterosaurs to take off
10:16that's why these sorts of habitats cliffs and canyons
10:20you find them here most often because they must rely on the prevailing winds
10:24to literally take them off
10:45I hadn't found the giant dinosaurs but they had found me
10:50what the heck
11:00flipping hell
11:03there's been a big animal here
11:06look at those slash marks
11:09the whole place has been trashed
11:13look at this quick
11:16a dinosaur tooth
11:17trying to bite into this can of meat
11:21and it is a massive one
11:24there 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
11:51I 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
12:05but look at the damage
12:06I mean it's just scared me witless
12:11this is even more terrifying in the daylight
12:15look at that for a tooth
12:17there's still dinosaur gum attached
12:19but I'll tell you something
12:21the predator won't miss this
12:23dinosaurs they're like sharks and alligators
12:25if they crunch into something that's too hard
12:28these teeth are specially designed to be lost
12:31and some dinosaurs
12:33they can go through 500 teeth in a lifetime
12:37but that is a formidable weapon
12:49we're tracking the predator
12:50there's a trail of trampled vegetation
12:53led down to this riverbed
12:55there's no more plants to tread on here
12:57but it's still an easy trail to follow
12:59look at that for a dinosaur footprint
13:07and whenever you're following a big animal
13:09you don't want to surprise them
13:13it triggers my eyes, a skin
13:15but any tree, every shadow
13:17seems to be a big dinosaur
13:27look at that
13:28three of my size 11s
13:30in just one toe
13:32but the stride pattern
13:34it's changed around here
13:35there's not such a big gap
13:36in between the prints
13:38it's as though it's stopped
13:41and listened
13:42or looked or smelt
13:44maybe it's stalking something
13:53we're a few miles from camp
13:54and there was a terrific noise
13:56a tremendous kerfuffle
13:58just up ahead
13:59as if animals were chasing each other
14:00or fighting
14:02something's definitely happening
14:03come on
14:17the trail of blood
14:19led me to a badly wounded iguanodont
14:37this must have been what all that commotion was about
14:40look at that injury
14:41it's either been bitten
14:43or clawed
14:44and luckily
14:46they can recover
14:47from injuries that would kill a mammal
14:49and hopefully
14:50she's going to be alright
14:55the predator
14:56can't be far away now
14:58a little scary
15:01but it must be magnificent
15:02there's more blood
15:05here
15:06that is very fresh
15:08and there's another drop
15:14just a little further on
15:15I came face to face
15:17with the killer
15:18there it was
15:19the biggest land predator ever
15:22with a dead iguanodont
15:24at its feet
15:26couldn't be anything else
15:27a giganotosaurus
15:30paleontologists reckon
15:32that that predator
15:33weighs two tons more
15:35than T-rex
15:37that must have been
15:38that wrecked the campsite
15:41that shouldn't wrap up a bit
15:42but really it's good news
15:43these big dinosaur predators
15:46they wait for the herbivores
15:47just like crocodiles
15:48waiting at river crossings in Africa
15:50and because he's here
15:52the herd of argentinosaurus
15:54they can't be far away
16:11time to bring in
16:13some 21st century technology
16:16period and even if they don't
16:30the fact because
16:30and that projects
16:30that
16:30they do
16:30love
16:31you
16:31the odds of your
16:32falling
16:42because
16:42I've also
16:43found on the
16:45and
16:45this is
16:52I can't believe this, they're all around me on every wing tip, there's a pterosaur, I've seen this with vultures,
17:04I got frightened by the noise, that is fantastic, flying with pterosaurs.
17:26I can't believe it, it's the biggest pterosaur ever, one of the carless, we've got a wingspan of 26 feet
17:34in this ultralight, they've got a wingspan of 40 feet, and look at that gliding, that's the biggest creature that's
17:43ever flown.
17:59There, that's what we've been looking for, there's the herd down there, and they are massive, even from up here,
18:09even from a few hundred feet, they look huge.
18:12The pterosaur's eye view of Argentinosaurus, there's at least a dozen down there.
18:26Oh, oh!
19:20I 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
19:29there's another big volcanic lava field
19:33and I want to see them on the ground
19:36at last this is what we've been waiting for
19:39and we have got to hurry
19:49this was the herd all right
19:50now just 20 miles from the nesting site by the lake
20:00and here was my chance
20:02to do a bit of dino science
20:14the herd are just over there
20:16they're coming this way
20:17I 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
20:26to walk on the land
20:27and this is an opportunity to corroborate that
20:30to actually weigh a dinosaur
20:34these are weighing pads
20:37for lorries
20:38they're a bit more robust
20:40than your normal bathroom scales
20:42and if I can get them in position
20:44if the dinosaurs will walk on these
20:46I can weigh them
20:56given the size of the Argentinosaurus
20:59it would take quite a few plates
21:00to cover a big enough section of ground
21:03wired together
21:04these should work like one big weighing machine
21:30this 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
21:37is for one
21:38to step on those plates
21:40come on
21:41come on
21:44you just missed
21:45there was just one foot on a plate there
21:46and they need all four feet
21:55come on
21:55there's one coming right in line
21:59yes
21:59I think he's on the spot
22:01let me check that
22:03yes
22:0492 tonnes
22:05that's about as much as 30 African elephants
22:10the herd was now entering the most dangerous phase of their migration
22:15between them and the nesting site
22:18fearsome predatory heavyweights were lying in wait
22:29after yesterday's weigh-in
22:30we left the Argentinosaurus herd
22:32somewhere near here they were skirting the edge of this forest
22:35heading east towards the nesting grounds
22:38they can't move very fast so hopefully
22:41we can intercept them
22:50look at them
22:52look at them
22:52that is beautiful
22:54gorgeous moves so beautifully
22:58watch out look at that behind
23:01come on
23:10what a monster
23:28wow
23:29wow
23:29my heart is still hammering
23:31having a big predatory dinosaur
23:34virtually breathing down your neck
23:38that was terrifying
23:40it gives you
23:41a tiny idea
23:43of what it's like to be an Argentinosaurus
23:45every time this brilliant herd goes to its breeding grounds
23:49they have to run a gauntlet
23:51of these big predators
23:53there's five or six giganotosaurus
23:56and they are trailing the back of the herd
23:58they are looking really interested
24:13but what I was about to witness
24:15would be nothing like the explosive pursuits of lions hunting zebras
24:21this kill would be far from quick
24:40it doesn't feel like it
24:41that we've been following the herd
24:43and the attacking giganotosaurus
24:46for over an hour now
24:48they've selected a victim
24:49it's a young female I think
24:51what they've been doing is
24:52they've been running into the herd
24:54testing for weaknesses
24:55and now
24:56I think the hunt's
24:58going to start being honest
25:01this is getting very serious
25:26I kept following the herd
25:28as they slowly made their way towards the lake
25:33time after time after time
25:36the giganotosaurus
25:38attacked the female
25:39trying to separate her off
25:41from the rest of the herd
25:43this hunt's gone on a remarkably long time
25:46virtually the whole day
25:48and they are relentlessly pursuing that young female
25:51they're biting her
25:52they're trying to wear her down from blood loss
25:54and exhaustion
25:56working as a team
25:57the giganotosaurus
25:58can tackle large prey items like this
26:01and if they can bring down this young argentinosaurus
26:04they won't need to feed again for two or three months
26:12so
26:18oh
26:19oh
26:20oh
26:20oh
26:33the ultimate hunt
26:35this is what we came all this way for now it's just too harrowing you can hear the distress
26:44calls of the argentinosaurus she's trapped somewhere down there they just go right through
26:49you it's just about too dark to film anymore and for once i'm pleased about that
27:10so
27:19so
27:20so
27:20so
27:41this is a magical end to my dinosaur safari the drive to breed is why the argentinosaurus herd
27:49make that perilous journey and this is why they do it the females they're all egg laying
27:57i don't want to get too close don't want to disturb them and i'd hate to get caught in a
28:02stampede
28:09so
28:16so
28:17so
28:17so
28:19so
28:20so
28:22so
28:40there's no place or time that's quite like this look at them how do i feel when you're
28:48next to giant dinosaurs it makes you feel so incredibly small watch out
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