Original subtitles

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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