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Land of Giants (Chased by Dinosaurs)
Land of Giants
General information
SeriesChased by Dinosaurs
Episode number2
Featured creaturesArgentinosaurus
Giganotosaurus
Broadcast information
Original airdate1 January 2003
Chronological information
Previous episode
The Giant Claw
Following episode
First Ancestors

Summary[]

  • Purpose: To view the greatest hunt in history, a pack of Giganotosaurus hunting a herd of Argentinosaurus
  • Conditions: Volcanic ash fields and conifer forest

Full synopsis[]

Nigel travels back in time with his film crew. He comes across a skeleton of an Argentinosaurus, stating that the perpetrator was not a Tyrannosaurus as they did not come about yet, but a predator even bigger; the biggest prey of all time and among the biggest predators of all time. He later comes across a nesting ground near a large lake, where the Argentinosaurus nest every year. There Nigel sees a juvenile Argentinosaurus heifer, who is not yet fully grown, stating there must be some good food for her, and is then startled by a Sarcosuchus. Nigel then coaxes it out of the lake by splashing a stick in the water. The sarco soon rises from the water, forcing Nigel back. Nigel states that the young Argentinosaurs can be preyed on by the croc. Nigel attaches a video camera to his head and walks towards it, and demonstrates it's biting power by pushing a stick into it's mouth and having the Sarcosuchus bite down on it while the croc is basking in the sun. The sarco slices the stick in half and chases Nigel away.

Later Nigel climbs up the volcanic slopes to get a panoramic view of the area to see Argentinosaurus herd. Instead he finds a herd of Macrogryphosaurus grazing on some leaves from the bushes, stating that iguanodonts like the macro are highly widespread and successful. His search leads him all the way to the coast, where he views a colony of Pteranodon on the cliffs hunting fish. Nigel doesn't return to the campsite until night, where he finds that a large predator has attacked his tent, and left all the provisions littered across the surrounding ground. He finds a single theropod dinosaur tooth jammed in a can of meat.

021218clawgiant gigig

The next morning Nigel has set up an alarm system outside the camp so that if something breaks the laser tripwire, a loud alarm will sound, alerting Nigel. He notices the same tooth lodged in the meat can and pries it free, explaining that when dinosaurs bite down something too tough these teeth will be lost as per design, finishing that some dinosaurs can go through up to five hundred teeth in their lifetimes. Later he tracks down the predator, where, around midday, Nigel hears a commotion further ahead. He finds a trail of blood in a brook, which leads him to a badly wounded macro mare in a rocky gully. He explains that dinosaurs can recover injuries lethal enough to kill mammal, stating that the mare will hopefully be alright. He walks further upstream to find a smaller dead individual with a Giganotosaurus eating it, explaining that the giga must be four thousand pounds greater than a Tyrannosaurus, and that because this giga is around, the Argentinosaurs cannot be too far away. The giga picks the kill up from the ground and walks away.

Later Nigel is shown flying over the ash-fields in an ultralight. Soon he finds another Pteranodon flock. After breaking away he sees an Ornithocheirus, one of the largest animal ever to fly and joins it for a brief moment. Soon Nigel discovers the Argentinosaurus herd far below, so he lands the ultra light nearby his jeep. He then drives off towards the herd and locates it without any trouble.

After appreciating their gargantuan size, Nigel drives into a natural 'funnel', caused by a break in some trees. He then sets up some weighing scales designed for lorries. After several fruitless attempts, an Argentinosaurus steps on the scales, showing that it weighs 92.3 tonnes, and Nigel explains that that's the same as 30 African elephants.

The next morning, Nigel is riding alongside a running macro 20 miles away from the camp in the jeep, stating that the macro is beautiful and gorgeous as it moves so beautifully, when he realizes that the macro actually running because a Giganotosaurus is chasing them both. The giga stops in his tracks and roars aggressively. Nigel narrowly escapes the predator only to meet up with the herd later in the morning, stating that to have a predatory dinosaur virtually breathing down one's neck is horrifying. He soon notices a pride of five to six Giganotosaurus mobbing the herd, ready to begin the hunt.

By late afternoon, the pride has singled out a victim, a teenage female, rushing at her to test some weaknesses or make some choices. Having made her decision, one of the gigas charges forward and draws first blood, dodging a retaliatory bite from an adult Argentinosaur in the process. The rest of the pride joins the attack and are inflicting nasty wounds, waiting for her to bleed to death. Nigel states that working as a team, the gigas can bring down prey many times their size, and that if the pride can bring the teenage argentino to heel, they will not have to hunt again for two to three months. The hunt continues for the rest of the day and into the night, when a seventh giga from the pride joins the hunt, when filming is no longer possible and Nigel must leave, stating that for once he is pleased about it.

The next morning, Nigel finds the herd has finally arrived at nesting site beside the lake and wakes a sleeping sarco up, causing the sarco to flee underwater. While the females are laying their eggs Nigel comments on what a magical ending this is for his dinosaur safari. Suddenly a Sarcosuchus lunges at him out of the water. Nigel just escapes.

Creatures[]

100 Million Years Ago (Argentina)[]

Trivia[]

  • On the Science Channel, Nigel rips the background to enter this episode after The Giant Claw.
  • The episode shares some similarities with the final episode of Prehistoric Park Super Croc
    • Nigel splashes the water with a stick to simulate an animal drinking to attract the Sarcosuchus onto land. In Prehistoric Park, he uses a paddle to attract a Deinosuchus.
    • To search for the herd of Argentinosaurus, Nigel flies in an ultralight for an aerial view while flying with a flock of Pteranodon and an Ornithocheirus. In Prehistoric Park, he does the same to search for Deinosuchus and flies with a flock of Nyctosaurus.
  • This episode is not to be confused with Land of Giants (Walking with Beasts), which features another creature of gigantic proportions, this time the long necked rhino, Indricotherium.

Gallery[]

Errors[]

Broadcast[]

Original airdate[]

  • 1 January 2003 18.50 BBC One

Repeat[]

  • 14 August 2003 19.00 BBC One
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