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The story of life on Earth...
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...has been marked
by a series of catastrophic
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extinction events.
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Natural disasters
which have threatened
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to wipe out
many of the creatures
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that call our planet home.
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But after
every brush with death,
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life has come back
even stronger.
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One such event took place
94 million years ago
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when underwater volcanoes
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erupted on a massive scale.
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These explosions
pushed up the sea floor
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baked the land
and poisoned the oceans.
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During this
global catastrophe
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even the mightiest
struggled to survive.
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But living things
always find a way.
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And this is their story.
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This is a world
dominated by giant dinosaurs.
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The climate is so hot,
there are no ice caps.
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Forests blanket the Earth
from pole to pole.
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In this prehistoric jungle
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a tiny cry for help
echoes through the trees.
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It's a fluffy
newly hatched dinosaur.
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Curious about the world,
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he is just large enough
to have strayed from his nest.
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And now he's lost.
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Finally his cries are heard...
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but not by his mom.
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Ichthyornis,
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a predatory seabird.
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He doesn't see
a vulnerable hatchling,
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he sees lunch.
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His teeth are razor sharp
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and he's brought some
friends for this lunch date.
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He never
should have left the nest.
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Spinosaurus.
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One of the largest
carnivorous dinosaurs
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ever to walk the earth.
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Weighing more
than two bull elephants
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This massive predator
would normally
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stick to the rivers
and deltas for her prey.
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But today,
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she's used
her deadly six foot jaws...
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...to rescue her own tiny baby.
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His siblings
are glad to have him back.
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For this new mother,
as with most new mothers,
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keeping her babies safe
is exhausting.
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Plus mom hasn't eaten
or slept in weeks.
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Her full time job
is protecting her young.
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Not on her watch.
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The Ichthyornis
head out to sea
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to easier hunting grounds.
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This is an extraordinary time
in Earth's history.
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The Temperature
is over 100 degrees
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and it's only morning
on another muggy humid day.
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It's the hottest
Earth has been
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in the last
hundred million years.
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The cause
lies half a planet away.
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Far to the west
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a gigantic set
of underwater volcanoes
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are pumping greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere,
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super-heating
the dinosaurs world.
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The continuous eruptions
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are also thrusting up
the ocean floor,
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creating sea levels
1,000 feet higher than today
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and pushing water
onto the land.
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This has created a planet
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covered in entirely
new shallow seas.
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Bathtub-warm waters are home
to an array of strange sea life.
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This shark may look familiar
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but other creatures here
are like nothing alive today.
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These magnificent
sleeping giants
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are marine reptiles
called Pliosaurus.
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They may look passive,
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but they're the fiercest
predators in the ocean
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and the last thing
this shark wants to do
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is wake them.
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94 million years
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before modern humans
walked the Earth
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and the world's oceans are
25 degrees hotter than today
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beneath the waves,
marine life has evolved
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to cope with these
super-heated waters.
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And the dominant predators here
are reptiles.
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Like these enormous
sleeping Pliosaurus.
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Each weighs
as much as two school buses.
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Like all reptiles,
they breathe air.
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Pliosaurus, however,
never leave the water,
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and can hold their breath
for up to two hours.
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This female is pregnant.
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For the last 18 months she
has been carrying just one baby
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and her due date
is at any moment.
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The shark is an opportunist
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tempted by ammonites
feeding off tiny creatures
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on the Pliosaurs' skin.
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But this mom is on high alert.
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She's about to give birth
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and predators are not invited.
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And she needs her rest.
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The high sea levels have created
an exotic coastline
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scattered with reefs,
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and lush islands.
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It's here,
on the edge of a shallow lagoon,
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that our mother Spinosaurus
has made her nest.
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Nearby, the Ichthyornis return
to the calm of the lagoon,
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well-fed from their hunt
on the open sea.
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But if they think
this is a chance to rest
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they're wrong.
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Portunatasaurus.
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They are drawn
to the bird's paddling feet.
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But the Ichthyornis
have sharp teeth
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and are not afraid to use them.
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The birds make their escape.
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These marine lizards
are actually fish eaters.
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They were just
playing with the birds.
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Once the game is done,
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they head out
to hunt on the reefs.
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The lizard's
underwater realm is unique
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to this time
in Earth's history.
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Corals struggle
to survive in these warm seas.
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Instead, the giant reefs are
made of mounds of long tubes.
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These tubes
are created by mollusks
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related to clams that
filter out food from the water.
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Unlike the great Pliosaurus,
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the Portunatasaurus
are not fully marine.
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They eventually
need to come ashore to rest.
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But rest rarely lasts long
for these hot heads.
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The competition for space
soon leads to tension.
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Once trouble starts,
it spreads like a bar fight.
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It's too hot
to fight for long though.
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By midday it's reached
a stifling 110 degrees.
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Humidity is off the charts
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and the air pressure
is dropping dramatically.
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All the signs,
a storm is approaching.
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And these seas
hold so much thermal energy
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the storms here can be enormous.
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Oblivious to the looming danger,
the Pliosaurus have woken.
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The soon to be mother
needs a full meal
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for her growing baby.
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It's time
for these giants to hunt.
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The surface waters are
too warm to carry much life.
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Instead,
she and the rest of the group
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swim down
to the cooler waters below.
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But the distant volcanoes
are having another
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disastrous effect
on the world's oceans.
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Hidden in the depths
is a new threat
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as the Pliosaurus
are about to find out.
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94 million years ago
and the ocean floor
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is being torn apart
by volcanic eruptions.
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This unprecedented
outpouring of magma
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is not only
pushing up sea levels
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and heating the atmosphere,
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but it is also
releasing huge quantities
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of minerals into the oceans.
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This is feeding
vast blooms of algae.
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Then as the algae die
and sink to the bottom,
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the process of decay consumes
all the oxygen in the water,
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suffocating marine life
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and creating
death zones in the deep.
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In a world of sluggish ocean
currents and warm shallow seas,
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these zones have been growing
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and now half the Earth's
seas are stagnant.
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Our Pliosaur mother-to-be
needs to eat
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one ton of food a day
to support her and her baby...
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but she's growing desperate.
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The prey
she normally depends on
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can't survive
in these toxic waters.
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Her feeding grounds
are shrinking,
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squeezed between
hot waters above
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and deadly stagnation below.
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To save herself and her baby
she will have to look elsewhere
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and it had better arrive soon
or both will starve to death.
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As the afternoon drags on,
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all living things
are feeling the heat.
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The breathless forest
falls silent
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as even the insects
resort to summer hibernation
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to conserve water and energy.
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Nearby the heat has made
our mother's Spinosaurus
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drowsy and lethargic.
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And it's causing her hatchlings
to suffer in the nest.
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Normally their pale
downy feathers keep them cool.
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But they're no match for these
scorching temperatures.
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With each minute of direct sun,
they risk dying of heat stroke.
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Finally,
their mother hears them.
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She moves out
from under the trees
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and provides shade
for her babies.
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Relief, for the moment.
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As the heat rises
the storm draws nearer.
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The Portunatasaurus are
returning to the water to hunt.
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But this time,
they are not alone.
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Their activity
has drawn the attention
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of the great Pliosaurus.
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Including our hungry,
pregnant mother.
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There's danger in these shallows
for massive creatures like her.
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Any of her pod
could easily get stranded
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on these sharp,
treacherous reefs.
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Most are forced to turn away.
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But our pregnant mother
is prepared to take the risk.
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She's desperate
to nourish her unborn baby.
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She missed.
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And now she's stuck.
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If she can't free herself...
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she will die.
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She risked
everything for her baby.
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Now she leaves
hungry and wounded.
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She returns to the safety
of deeper water,
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yet her troubles are not over.
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00:21:14,795 --> 00:21:16,971
There is a new threat
on the horizon.
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The storm is here.
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The warm seas
have created a monster.
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A super hurricane.
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Our planet during
the age of dinosaurs.
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Here, the overheated oceans
have created a super hurricane.
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This vast storm system is
now more than 1,000 miles wide
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and so powerful that clouds
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00:22:07,848 --> 00:22:10,416
have been drawn miles
into the atmosphere.
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00:22:15,595 --> 00:22:17,423
Out at sea,
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00:22:17,553 --> 00:22:21,296
wind speeds have reached
over 300 miles per hour.
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00:22:23,864 --> 00:22:26,301
And it is barreling
toward the coast.
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Our Pliosaurus
take one last breath and dive.
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If they can just ride out
the ferocious storm surge,
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they may have a chance
when they do come up for air.
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Our soon-to-be mother
should be following the others.
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But the time has come
for her to give birth.
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She faces a terrible dilemma.
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The moment her baby is born,
she must be near the surface
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so she can coax it up
to take its first breath.
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If she dives with the others,
her newborn will drown.
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But she is a mom,
and there never was a choice.
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She stays.
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00:23:42,377 --> 00:23:45,685
Along the coast,
the winds are rising fast.
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And the Ichthyornis fly
inland to escape what's coming.
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The Portunatasaurus
will seek safety in the water,
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but not until the last minute.
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They watch the approaching storm
waiting for their moment.
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But on the other
side of the lagoon
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our mother Spinosaurus
is starving.
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She leaves her nest
in search of food.
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Food like the lizards.
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To reach them,
she goes into stealth mode.
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She swims.
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She needs this food
to save herself and her babies.
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00:25:02,631 --> 00:25:04,938
But the rocks slow her down.
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Now the hurricane is upon her.
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With a 40-foot storm surge,
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she has no time
to get back to her nest.
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All along the coastline,
the storm hits with a vengeance.
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Out at sea, it is chaos.
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And another mother
is fighting to stay alive.
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Her baby finally arrives.
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00:26:33,504 --> 00:26:37,596
Now she risks all
for her new son.
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She must lead him to
the raging surface to breathe.
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His first breath...
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could be his last.
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Eventually,
the super hurricane passes.
255
00:27:23,467 --> 00:27:27,428
But it has completely changed
the shape of the coastline.
256
00:27:29,691 --> 00:27:31,954
Barrier islands
have been swept away.
257
00:27:33,782 --> 00:27:35,523
Reefs smothered.
258
00:27:36,567 --> 00:27:38,352
And beaches moved.
259
00:27:44,967 --> 00:27:48,667
Inland, thousands
of square miles of forest
260
00:27:48,884 --> 00:27:50,973
have been
torn down and flattened.
261
00:27:55,238 --> 00:27:57,937
The storm surge
has lifted millions of tons
262
00:27:58,111 --> 00:28:00,374
of coastal debris inshore.
263
00:28:05,161 --> 00:28:07,381
But amidst all the wreckage,
264
00:28:07,555 --> 00:28:11,646
some of the most vulnerable
have survived.
265
00:28:14,693 --> 00:28:16,520
Our Spinosaurus hatchlings
266
00:28:16,607 --> 00:28:19,567
miraculously escaped
the worst of the storm.
267
00:28:20,742 --> 00:28:22,222
Even more incredible...
268
00:28:24,398 --> 00:28:26,835
Their fearless mother
is still there,
269
00:28:27,009 --> 00:28:28,794
protecting her little ones.
270
00:28:32,014 --> 00:28:34,016
She's battered and bruised,
271
00:28:34,190 --> 00:28:38,455
but her will to survive
brought her back to her babies.
272
00:28:43,634 --> 00:28:46,899
Now, more than ever,
she needs food.
273
00:28:54,167 --> 00:28:58,258
An Ichthyornis who should have
been killed by the high winds...
274
00:28:59,694 --> 00:29:01,478
...managed to find shelter.
275
00:29:10,923 --> 00:29:13,969
Unfortunately,
our brave Pliosaur mother's
276
00:29:14,143 --> 00:29:17,364
heartbreaking dilemma
cost her her life.
277
00:29:20,019 --> 00:29:23,805
The giant storm surge
lifted all 22 tons of her
278
00:29:23,979 --> 00:29:27,069
out of the sea
and washed her inland.
279
00:29:45,522 --> 00:29:47,829
Spinosaurus are not
280
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:49,396
typically scavengers.
281
00:29:56,969 --> 00:29:59,362
But today,
our desperate mother
282
00:29:59,536 --> 00:30:01,756
can't ignore
this incredible offering.
283
00:30:07,370 --> 00:30:10,069
One mother's gift
to another.
284
00:30:21,384 --> 00:30:24,344
Against all odds,
the baby Pliosaur
285
00:30:24,518 --> 00:30:27,216
has survived the storm
that killed his mom.
286
00:30:29,044 --> 00:30:31,438
Usually, he would spend
his first six months
287
00:30:31,655 --> 00:30:33,701
with her learning to hunt.
288
00:30:36,965 --> 00:30:39,707
His future looks bleak.
289
00:30:44,451 --> 00:30:47,933
But his mother's pod
made it through the storm,
290
00:30:48,020 --> 00:30:50,544
and now they surround him.
291
00:30:52,154 --> 00:30:55,070
They will care for him until
he can look out for himself.
292
00:30:56,942 --> 00:30:59,901
He will never know
what his mother sacrificed
293
00:30:59,988 --> 00:31:01,294
to give him life.
294
00:31:04,297 --> 00:31:07,213
These Pliosaurs
have survived the storm,
295
00:31:07,430 --> 00:31:09,824
but their entire species
is threatened.
296
00:31:17,223 --> 00:31:19,312
Thousands of years pass,
297
00:31:19,529 --> 00:31:23,229
and the volcanoes continue
to heat and poison the ocean.
298
00:31:26,536 --> 00:31:30,236
Surface water temperatures
reach nearly 100 degrees
299
00:31:30,453 --> 00:31:32,542
and the deep
death zones expand,
300
00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:38,244
Eventually killing off
half of all marine life,
301
00:31:38,331 --> 00:31:42,770
Including the giant marine
reptiles like the Pliosaurs.
302
00:31:44,163 --> 00:31:46,252
It's one of
the greatest ocean catastrophes
303
00:31:46,426 --> 00:31:49,385
in the history
of our planet.
304
00:31:52,867 --> 00:31:54,869
After five million years,
305
00:31:55,087 --> 00:31:58,177
the volcanoes
finally grow cold...
306
00:32:04,183 --> 00:32:05,619
the waters cool...
307
00:32:07,838 --> 00:32:11,799
and life, once again,
bounces back.
308
00:32:28,294 --> 00:32:31,862
Dinosaurs have come through
this extinction event
309
00:32:32,037 --> 00:32:34,474
relatively unscathed.
310
00:32:34,648 --> 00:32:37,868
And continue
to dominate the land.
311
00:32:50,664 --> 00:32:52,883
But in the oceans around them,
312
00:32:52,971 --> 00:32:56,104
things have changed
dramatically.
313
00:33:00,543 --> 00:33:01,892
Now they are ruled
314
00:33:02,067 --> 00:33:04,895
by an entirely new dynasty
315
00:33:05,070 --> 00:33:06,680
of killers.
316
00:33:17,038 --> 00:33:18,909
It's been five million years
317
00:33:19,084 --> 00:33:20,781
since a crisis in the oceans
318
00:33:20,955 --> 00:33:24,045
killed off
half of all marine life.
319
00:33:25,916 --> 00:33:28,093
Now the underwater volcanoes
320
00:33:28,223 --> 00:33:29,964
that drove up global
temperatures
321
00:33:30,182 --> 00:33:33,359
and poisoned the seas
have fallen silent.
322
00:33:38,364 --> 00:33:41,193
This family
of heavily armored Nothosaurus
323
00:33:41,367 --> 00:33:46,067
have come down to an estuary
to mourn one of their herd,
324
00:33:46,241 --> 00:33:49,897
An old female
who lies dead in the shallows.
325
00:33:58,819 --> 00:34:01,256
The old Nothosaurus'
sad death, however...
326
00:34:02,388 --> 00:34:05,695
is about to contribute
to a whole new circle of life.
327
00:34:13,921 --> 00:34:17,055
Gradually,
she begins to float out to sea.
328
00:34:21,015 --> 00:34:22,495
By late evening,
329
00:34:22,625 --> 00:34:25,759
the scent of her body
has permeated the water,
330
00:34:25,889 --> 00:34:28,631
and she becomes a meal
for the sea life around her.
331
00:34:31,895 --> 00:34:34,376
Fish quickly arrive
on the scene.
332
00:34:41,514 --> 00:34:46,171
Soon, a bait ball forms
beneath the floating dinosaur.
333
00:34:49,522 --> 00:34:52,612
A Pteranodon begins
to circle in the sky above.
334
00:34:56,485 --> 00:34:59,009
He may fly
for miles out to sea
335
00:34:59,140 --> 00:35:01,316
in search
of such an opportunity.
336
00:35:04,580 --> 00:35:06,452
But he's not after
the Nothosaur.
337
00:35:16,026 --> 00:35:17,985
The Pteranodon is fishing...
338
00:35:23,425 --> 00:35:26,602
...and triumphantly rests
on the old dinosaur's body
339
00:35:26,776 --> 00:35:28,300
to swallow his catch.
340
00:35:31,477 --> 00:35:34,306
But now
there's blood in the water.
341
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:58,504
Cretoxyrhina.
342
00:35:59,940 --> 00:36:04,858
A new species of shark
almost as big as a great white.
343
00:36:09,950 --> 00:36:11,343
All this activity tips
344
00:36:11,517 --> 00:36:13,867
the Nothosaur
and sends it sinking.
345
00:36:16,478 --> 00:36:18,698
But the feeding frenzy
isn't over.
346
00:36:20,743 --> 00:36:24,704
Cretoxyrhina
is an apex predator.
347
00:36:27,359 --> 00:36:30,536
But not the apex predator.
348
00:36:33,321 --> 00:36:36,324
A 50-foot-long Mosasaur.
349
00:36:37,412 --> 00:36:40,676
One of the top dogs
in these new oceans.
350
00:36:46,073 --> 00:36:50,469
So large he can swallow
Cretoxyrhina whole.
351
00:37:03,003 --> 00:37:07,225
A lizard like Portunatasaurus
all those years before.
352
00:37:09,314 --> 00:37:11,577
He and his cousins
have quickly filled the void
353
00:37:11,707 --> 00:37:15,581
left by Pliosaurus and the other
large marine reptiles.
354
00:37:24,024 --> 00:37:27,941
It's no longer a toxic soup
down here on the sea floor.
355
00:37:29,551 --> 00:37:33,381
And gone are the strange
mollusk reefs of the past.
356
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,518
Corals have returned
and will claim
357
00:37:39,648 --> 00:37:42,216
the old
female dinosaur's body.
358
00:37:46,133 --> 00:37:49,702
But her hard shell armor
will last a long time.
359
00:37:53,358 --> 00:37:57,187
Her final legacy,
a unique section of reef.
360
00:38:12,028 --> 00:38:14,814
Today, the overheated seas
361
00:38:14,944 --> 00:38:18,905
that plagued the age
of the dinosaurs are long gone.
362
00:38:20,036 --> 00:38:23,213
Instead, our planet cooled
363
00:38:23,388 --> 00:38:27,174
and the oceans are now
an average 25 degrees colder.
364
00:38:29,219 --> 00:38:32,658
This process triggered
powerful ocean currents
365
00:38:32,832 --> 00:38:36,009
that helped sweep away
the stagnant dead zones.
366
00:38:37,576 --> 00:38:41,231
We now have some of
the most oxygenated seas
367
00:38:41,406 --> 00:38:43,625
the Earth has ever seen.
368
00:38:45,627 --> 00:38:49,457
These cold waters are no place
for giant marine reptiles.
369
00:38:50,850 --> 00:38:52,068
But that doesn't mean
we don't have
370
00:38:52,286 --> 00:38:53,809
our own sea monsters...
371
00:38:59,380 --> 00:39:00,642
the whales.
372
00:39:14,482 --> 00:39:16,310
One-hundred-and-fifty-ton
373
00:39:16,528 --> 00:39:20,140
majestic baleen whales
have evolved to feed
374
00:39:20,270 --> 00:39:22,882
on the swarms
of tiny creatures
375
00:39:23,099 --> 00:39:25,754
that thrive
in our icy oceans.
376
00:39:32,457 --> 00:39:34,676
Now is the age of mammals.
377
00:39:38,201 --> 00:39:41,248
Just like
the ancient marine reptiles,
378
00:39:41,466 --> 00:39:44,512
whales depend
on a complex food chain
379
00:39:44,686 --> 00:39:47,036
to support their huge needs.
380
00:39:48,081 --> 00:39:50,170
They also reproduce slowly
381
00:39:50,388 --> 00:39:52,390
and invest heavily
in their young.
382
00:39:54,566 --> 00:39:57,264
But recently
our oceans have warmed
383
00:39:57,438 --> 00:39:59,179
by just two degrees.
384
00:40:01,616 --> 00:40:03,313
And the ripples
through the food chain
385
00:40:03,444 --> 00:40:06,229
have left
some whales struggling.
386
00:40:13,628 --> 00:40:16,762
The giant reptiles
may be gone,
387
00:40:16,979 --> 00:40:19,765
but the challenges
of surviving at the top...
388
00:40:23,029 --> 00:40:24,422
still remain.
389
00:40:28,513 --> 00:40:32,560
♪ I see trees of green ♪
390
00:40:32,778 --> 00:40:35,737
♪ Red roses too ♪
391
00:40:35,868 --> 00:40:41,047
♪ I watch them bloom
For me and you ♪
392
00:40:41,264 --> 00:40:44,442
♪ And I think to myself ♪
393
00:40:45,399 --> 00:40:52,101
♪ What a wonderful world
394
00:40:52,275 --> 00:40:56,454
♪ Yes, I think to myself ♪
395
00:40:57,759 --> 00:41:02,590
♪ What a wonderful world ♪