All language subtitles for Walking with Dinosaurs s01e04 Giant of the Skies.eng

In life, he was the most magnificent
beast ever to take to the wing

He ruled the skies supreme,

flying far and wide

over the lands of the dinosaurs

This is the story
of the last journey

this giant ever made

It is the start
of a time called the Cretaceous

The movement of the continents

is not only breaking up
the landmasses,

but it continues
to push up sea levels

This has opened new seaways
and coastlines

(Squawking)

Where once there was solid land,
now there are ragged cliffs,

buzzing with an abundance of
flying reptiles called pterosaurs

Pterosaurs have been here
for 100 million years

Many species are huge Wingspans
of six metres and more are common

But there is one species
that dwarfs them all

He is Ornithocheirus -

12 metres
from wing tip to wing tip

and a body bigger than a man's

The undisputed king of the skies

This giant is over 40 years old

Most of his life has been spent
wandering the globe,

in search of food,

but every year, there is an
interruption to this nomadic life

It will soon be time to find a mate

On the rocks, the mating season
for another pterosaur is under way -

the bizarre-looking Tapejara

Pterosaurs' wings
are thin membranes of skin

that stretch from elongated fingers
on their forelimbs

to the ends of their hindlimbs

Their bones are hollow and light

They are masters of the air,

but on land they are cumbersome,

with their legs joined up
by the wings

Squatting on all fours,
the males try and claim an area

from which to display
to the females

They show off their colourful crests

until one competitor backs down

A large crest is also a lure
to the females

A potential mate
soon makes a cautious approach,

her head dipped in submission

As in any competition,
there are losers

Unable to secure himself
a good display patch,

this male is perilously close
to a blowhole

Down here, he has little chance
of attracting a mate

(Honking call)

Instinct tells the Ornithocheirus
that it is time to move on

He must return
to his breeding site in Europe,

on the other side of the world

For this giant of the sky,

it will be the last great flight
he ever makes

What he is about to undertake

is the most astounding journey
in the animal kingdom

From the shores
of the great southern continent,

he will travel to North America,

cross the Atlantic seaway,

and fly on to the islands

which mark where Europe
will one day be formed

Spread out below him
will be the majesty and spectacle

of a world ruled by dinosaurs

In just a few days, he reaches
the southern tip of North America

Below him, a column of Iguanodon

stretches along a beach,

grazing the edge of a dense forest

A thousand tonnes of dinosaur
are on the move

Hundreds of mouths are searching

for a fresh place
to satisfy their enormous appetites

The young play around the adults

Although these herbivores
walk on four legs,

Iguanodon can run on just two

This makes them quite nimble,

certainly more so than the
lumbering plant-eater, Polacanthus,

that is accompanying the herd

(High-pitched shrieking)

The wall of flesh
travels slowly onward,

following the path
of the Ornithocheirus,

but there is a setback ahead

(Thunder)

The climate in the time of
the dinosaurs is warm and tropical

There are only two seasons -
dry and wet

Now is the time of year
for tropical storms

In moments, the short stretch
of coast is drenched -

welcome relief for thirsty plants

and lean rivers,

but it is a disaster
for a migrating pterosaur

The Ornithocheirus
is grounded by the heavy rain,

frustrating his urge
to get to the breeding site

He shelters as best he can -

the downy fur on his body
must be kept dry

For the Iguanodon herd,
the rain is no hindrance

These are among the most successful
dinosaurs on the planet,

populating every continent,

thriving on a variety of vegetation

The river estuary provides them
with an ideal break in the forest

There is fresh water

and the banks here are thick with
lush podocarp scrub and tree ferns

One reason Iguanodon
are so successful

is they have a new way
of tackling plants

Most dinosaurs can only crudely
slice food with their teeth,

but Iguanodon
are the first herbivores

to have back teeth
that can grind up vegetation

This ability to chew

speeds digestion
of even the toughest plant material

The forests near the equator

are also witness
to another landmark in evolution

The first simple flowers
have arrived,

adding a dash of colour
to an otherwise green world

It is the start
of a new relationship with insects

Attracted by the colour and smell,

this wasp is feasting on pollen

It will unwittingly spread it
to other flowers,

speeding up
the plant's reproduction

The plants that have evolved
this feature are flourishing,

and soon will dominate
the flora of the world

The next day,
the weather starts to improve

The Ornithocheirus
waits impatiently in his cave,

and busies himself with grooming

He is plagued by parasites that
bite vessels on his wing membrane

If he is to find a mate,

he must be in prime condition

He has to keep the parasites
in check

In the morning air,

smaller reptiles
are now out on the wing

But the Ornithocheirus is so large,
he must wait

until the heat of the day
creates warm updraughts of air,

strong enough to lift him

But time is short
His body is already showing signs

of readiness for mating

Faint colours have started to bloom

on his beak's display crest

At last,
he can resume his epic journey

For thousands of kilometres, he
follows the coast of North America

Like all giant pterosaurs,
he uses his enormous wings

to ride on the warm air currents
that rise over land

His whole body weighs
less than 100 kilograms,

and this helps him glide
effortlessly over huge distances

But soon he must face open water

This is the young Atlantic

It is still
only 300 kilometres wide

To reach the other side,
he'll need all his gliding skills

to exploit air currents
that form over waves

Along the way, he must feed

But flying low brings its dangers

Hungry monsters watch him
from below the waves

An entire day on the wing,

and he has arrived on the most
western of Europe's islands

Again, the landscape is dominated
by a huge herd of Iguanodon

But this time,
it is a larger European species,

up to three tonnes apiece

These animals are again accompanied

by a spiky Polacanthus

These armoured herbivores

are often found
around Iguanodon herds,

presumably for mutual protection

There is safety in numbers

(Growling)

They are being watched

by a pack
of carnivorous Utahraptors

For the moment,
they are biding their time

Meanwhile,
another conflict is looming

A small pterosaur
fishes the waters of the lake

Its success has not gone unnoticed
by Ornithocheirus

The giant turns bully

Under cover of the pencil pines,

a female Utahraptor
has been stalking

Her chosen prey are the Iguanodon

Somewhere close by
are the rest of the pack

(Low growling)

With lethal claws, this
five-metre killer is well-armed

And long fingers help her

to latch on
to swift-moving larger prey

(Bellowing)

(Hissing)

(Bellowing)

Raptors have
the short legs of a sprinter

and do not pursue
their prey for long

This one saves her energy for later

Eventually, the herbivores
lose their nervousness,

and they start to move on

As the Iguanodon file down
to a lake to drink,

a Polacanthus lags behind
to gorge on conifers,

and becomes separated from the herd

The Utahraptors soon reappear,

tails held rigid for balance,

but the Polacanthus
displays his formidable defences

For a predator,
there are far easier meals nearby

The whole herd
has reached the lakeside

In the background,

the Ornithocheirus
sits safe on his rock

The raptors are closing in

The Iguanodon sense the threat

and start to get nervous

After one unsuccessful attack,

the raptors are being
more cautious, and it is paying off

They are within striking distance

(Guttural roar)

This is the first kill
they have made for over a week

They will eat as much as
100 kilograms each in one sitting

The youngest of the Utahraptors
hovers nearby

There is a pecking order
to this feast,

and the large adults come first

However, the youngster is hungry

and he tries his luck

(Snarling)

The response from the adults
is immediate and intimidating

This is not
a confrontation he can win

High above, the Ornithocheirus
leaves these killing fields

for a safer place to pass the night

He finds what appears to be
an ideal spot to rest,

before his final push
to the mating grounds

But from within the dense forest,
he is being watched

by relatives of the raptors

These, though, are birds -
flying dinosaurs

that share the same ancestors
as the carnivorous raptors

They have evolved feathers
which turn their arms into wings

At this time of year,
they have eggs to protect,

and the presence of the intruder

sets off a chain reaction
of aggression

Next to the Ornithocheirus,

the birds look no bigger
than insects

Their feathered wings
are more resistant to damage

than the skin membrane
of the pterosaur,

especially among branches and twigs

In the future,

the pterosaurs will
surrender the skies to the birds

He eventually reaches Cantabria,
which will one day form Spain

He is exhausted
by his 14,000 km journey

Ahead lies the mating ground

Every year of his adult life,

he has returned
to this same spot to mate

The beach is full of male
Ornithocheirus competing for space

As the old male approaches,

he knows that the nearer the centre
of this intimidating throng,

the more attractive
he will be to the females

He heads for the dominant position

he has occupied in previous years -
right in the middle

But this time, he faces
a challenge to his supremacy

Again and again, he tries to land,

but the males on the ground
fend him off

Eventually, his weariness tells,

and he has to land elsewhere

His position among the males

has been usurped by younger animals

They advertise their vigour and size

to warn off rival males,

and to attract females
out of the air

For the outcast,

the world has been
turned upside down

Now banished to the outskirts
of the mating area,

he will be lucky
to attract a female at all

(Honking call)

In the blistering heat of midday,

his instincts
force him to keep trying

The females are unmoved

The centre of the beach

A female has just landed

and submits herself to a male

who flashes his red crest
to impress her

Mating itself is brief Afterwards,
the male will resume displaying

to attract more females

The female herself will now leave

Three days later and, at last,

the breeding site
is emptying of males

It is still fiercely hot

Our Ornithocheirus has yet to mate

Worse still, his fruitless exertions
under the blazing sun

have taken a heavy toll

(Weak honks)

Heat stress and lack of food
have all but killed him

The king of the skies
has lost his majesty

His life has run full circle

In his time,
he travelled the globe,

but death finds him here,

in the very same place

where he first mated
some 40 years ago

On the beach are others who lost out

in this struggle to reproduce

But nature is seldom wasteful-

they have become food
for the next generation

The pterosaurs
continued to rule the skies

for millions of years,
while on land,

the dinosaurs spread
to every part of the globe

In the next episode,
we will see how they conquered

the most extraordinary
environment of all-

the dark forests of the South Pole

(Fierce roar and high-pitch screams)

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