Imagine if you could travel back in time. To a time long before man.Back across 66 Million Years.As you travel, you would see huge changes in the vegetation and the climate.Even the surface of the earth itself would move as mountain ranges are pushed up by colliding continents.Now you have reached a remarkable period of Earth’s history known as the Cretaceous.It is a very different world.The Himalayas do not yet exist and the Atlantic is only half as wide. Grass has just evolved.The world‘s vegetation is mainly ferns and trees.This World is ruled by dinosaurs.
An Ocephechelon carcass washes up onto the shore,and some Phosphatodraco fly down
These are Phosphatodraco,their opportunistic animals,they can eat anything from fish to small animals
A Chenanisaurus runs towards them,scaring them
This is Chenanisaurus, the apex predator of the region,measuring 7 meters long and weighing more than a Ton,it wouldn’t pass up on free food
But this series will also take you back much further.Back to the Jurassic Period.A time when life on Earth was as spectacular as the Cretaceous.The creatures here bath in a warm tropical climate,there are no Icecaps at the poles.Flowers and broad-leaf trees haven’t evolved yet.The air,land and sea are dominated by reptiles,especially dinosaurs
This is Shunosaurus,it’s smaller than most sauropods but it has a spiked tail club for defense
An Angustinaripterus lands on the Shunosaurus and starts biting at it
This is a symbiotic relationship,the Shunosaurus gets cleaned and the Angustinaripterus gets protection from predators
However, first, this series will go back even further to discover where dinosaurs came from.This is our own earth during the Triassic Period.Here, there are no separate continents,just one giant landmass called Pangea.It is a harsh place dominated by deserts.The Triassic has already seen many different varieties of ancient reptiles come and go.But now,out of the dry wilderness has appeared something revolutionary.The Humble Beginnings
A wide shot of a harsh desert shows
*Ignore the jeep*
This is modern day Brazil,232 Million Years ago,the beautiful Amazon Rainforest does not yet exist,and it’s ruled by reptiles
The Camera pans towards a group of Long legged animals
These are Bagualosaurus,they don’t look like much,but they will evolve into one of the most successful groups of Dinosaurs,the Sauropods
The Bagualosaurus start digging at the group while some others eat the nearby ferns
The Bagualosaurus have exceptional smell,they can smell water underground like elephants,and their strong legs allow them to dig it up
Some water appears in the hole
The Bagualosaurus start drinking the water
Their focus on the water means that they don’t focus on their surroundings
Which is a grave mistake
This is a Staurikosaurus,the first dinosaur,measuring 2 meters in length it’s barely the size of a wolf,but these are the beginnings of an empire
The Staurikosaurus starts stalking the group
In the nearby tree a reptile looks down
Ixalepeton,the ancestors of the Pterosaurs,they hid in trees to escape predators
The Ixalerpeton starts crying out
The Bagualosaurus look up and see the Staurikosaurus
The Bagualosaurus start running,the Staurikosaurus start accelerating as well
Like a Cheetah Staurikosaurus can move at high speeds,but not for long times
Bagualosaurus aren’t as fast but they can run for much longer
The Staurikosaurus looks around and sees a Juvenile Bagualosaurus and starts running at it
The Staurikosaurus is looking for easy prey
The Staurikosaurus leaps on the juvenile and bites the shoulder of the juvenile.
15 Minutes later…
The Staurikosaurus brings the live Bagualosaurus to her nest,with 2 juveniles
She brings the live prey so that her babies can learn to hunt
The Bagualosaurus lays down while the Staurikosaurus duo walk toward it,they start sniffing it.
The Staurikosaurus start kicking the Bagualosaurus and biting,the Bagualosaurus is helpless
Eventually one of them bite it’s neck while the other one scratches it.
3 Hours later…
The Staurikosaurus mother is sleeping while her kids start play biting
This may seem like goofing off,but games like this and tag are valuable life skills
The Staurikosaurus duo chase each other until they stumble upon a Trucidocynodon den
A mother Trucidocynodon walks out and starts growling at the duo
The confused Staurikosaurus start growling back
The Mother snaps at them and they run away
Trucidocynodon is a stem-mammal,like a honey badger it is aggressive for a size,even adult Staurikosaurus try to stay away from them,even if their only half the size of an adult
The Staurikosaurus walk away and then see a sleeping Aetosauroides
Like Ankylosaurs of the later eras,Aetosauroides has bulky armor
The two Staurikosaurus start investigating the new creature,sniffing at it,kicking it and jumping on it,that’s when they hear a low snarl
The Aetosauroides wakes up and starts getting in a defensive position,that’s when IT APPEARS
Rauisuchus,The Apex Predator of the Region
The Staurikosaurus start walking backwards slowly as the Rauisuchus approaches
After a bit the duo start running as the Rauisuchus rears up and runs towards the Aetosauroides
The Rauisuchus starts biting at the Aetosauroides,but can’t bite through the thick,bony hide of the herbivore.It start’s it’s focus on the 2 Staurikosaurus.
The 2 Staurikosaurus start running and their mom wakes up and sees the Rauisuchus,she sends her kids into the burrow she made and gets into a defensive position.
She snarls as the Rauisuchus tries to break through.
Normally a Staurikosaurus would run away from a predator,but when a mother’s kids are in danger,the mother will do anything to defend their kids.
The Staurikosaurus mom slashes and bites at the foe,he tries biting her but she defends herself,eventually he leaves,she turns around to look at her kids,that’s when the Rauisuchus returns,ramming into her,she struggles to cover his head and he shakes her off
The Staurikosaurus juveniles are pretty much trapped with little escape from the Rauisuchus
The Staurikosaurus mother jumped onto the Rauisuchus with all her energy and slashes at it’s eyes,the Rauisuchus bellows and escapes.
The Staurikosaurus mother rests as her kids rest as well.
5 Months Later…
This is the wet season,the herbivorous animals have more plants and there are large watering holes around the area,and new animals are here
A herd of big herbivores walk into the scene
These are Stahleckeria,they are migratory animals that only reappear during the wet season
An Ixalerpeton lands on one of them and starts eating bugs on the Stahleckeria
Stahleckeria and Ixalerpeton have a symbiotic relationship,the Ixalerpeton eats the bugs while the Stahleckeria protects them from predators
The 3 Staurikosaurus look on
Like Staurikosaurus
The Staurikosaurus focus on the Bagualosaurus they have killed
Close to the Stahleckeria are some Bagualosaurus and a Rauisuchus
This is the Rauisuchus that attacked the family,her eye is infected by the Staurikosaurus,and she’s forced to scavenge
The Staurikosaurus family rests as the rain starts
Later on they arrive at a large lake with a herd of Stahleckeria,Bagualosaurus,Ixalerpeton and a few Aetosauroides
The Rauisuchus arrives and starts drinking too.
Later the trio of Staurikosaurus return to their burrow as a Trucidocynodon walks by
3 Months Later…
It’s the mating season,the Staurikosaurus duo are adults now and leave the nest
Before they leave they bite eat other and “hug”
This is affectionate,it’s likely the brother and sister will never see each other again,so this is one last show of affection
The 2 run their separate ways
1 Day Later
The Staurikosaurus male brings a young Trucidocynodon to the female
Trucidocynodon is a rare animal to eat for Staurikosaurus,so it shows his strength
The male Staurikosaurus successfully courts the female,but then another male joins looking for a mate.
These 2 will fight,some of these fights can end in death
The 2 start by intimidation,and eventually the start snapping and biting,after a bit our Staurikosaurus pounces onto it’s foe and starts biting
The other Staurikosaurus runs away
3 weeks later
We see our Staurikosaurus and his mate around a nest of eggs as they hatch
They might not seem like much,but soon..
The family walks over to a Rauisuchus and starts eating it
But soon they will go and dominate the globe
A Dracovenator snarls
Next time on Walking with Dinosaurs,we will see what happens AFTER THE TRIASSIC
An Aardonyx runs away from the Dracovenator trying to eat it
We will see the beginning of the Dinosaur’s Global Domination
A Megazostrodon hides in a burrow from some Megapnosaurus
While out ancestors hide in their shadows,literally and figuratively
Inspired by @Kelbeam