Prehistoric Park: Australia
Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Impossible Pictures.
Note: this takes place after my previous story "Theo and Theodora".
It was about half a month after Nigel's last journey into the past, and the situation has largely stabilized: Theo and Theodora were clearly happy with each other and in no intention of breaking out of their enclosure any time, the titanosaurs continued to wander around the Park but were kept in hand, and the cubs were beginning to be weaned off their old milk diet and being introduced to meat (so far it was mostly goat or cow).
And Nigel, of course, was planning to go on his new adventure in time.
"When people think about the mega-mammals of the past," he was telling his crew and a nearby Microraptor that was begging for some bird feed, "they think about Eurasia with its woolly mammoth and Irish elk – the owner of world's biggest antlers, or about the Americas with its giant sloth and armored glyptodonts. But there were other parts of the world where mega-sized animals flourished, such as Australia. Before people arrived there, Australia had giant kangaroos, called Procoptodon, and rhinoceros-sized wombats, called Diprotodon. Even echidnas were much bigger than they are in modern times. For my part, we will go to that time period – about 16 000 years ago, and collect several of those animals. At that time Australia did have some large predators that could be dangerous to people so we should be on our guard – but it still won't be as dangerous as it was in the Cretaceous North America."
There was a pause as everyone listened to the typical snarls and roars from the Tyrannosaur enclosure, but there was nothing. Ever since he acquired his new wingman, Terrence was much more willing, and able, to stand up to Matilda. What's more, while one on one Matilda was the bigger and meaner T-Rex, when faced with two on one odds, she was more willing to back away as well.
Altogether, this meant that Tyrannosaurus Hill became a quieter place than it was in months, and that was rather strange.
"Anyways," Nigel continued as if there was not a slight pause just a moment before, "time is wasting, so let's go!"
And so off they went.
/
16 000 years ago, Australia was not quite as hot and sandy as it became in modern times, but even so, Nigel and his team were faced with a lot of scrubland, that did indeed have several kangaroos grazing in it, but they were mostly modern species, the red kangaroos, so they passed them by, with hardly a comment by Nigel.
"As you can see," he said brightly, "though this is still the prehistory, the modern species – such as the kangaroos and the cockatoos that are flying over our heads – are already well-established. They are smaller, more manoeuvrable, need less food and are faster than the large mega-beasts like Diprotodon or the giant kangaroos. This enabled them to survive when the Australian mega-beasts began to die out due to human hunting and habitat change."
A small sound suddenly sounded in the scrubland, causing the kangaroos to stiffen, to look and to listen around in a manner similar to the more mundane antelope or deer from the rest of the world. Their cautious approach to the world paid off, as something burst from the copse's cover, vaguely the size of a large panther, but with a more robust build and went charging at them. The kangaroos went off like flying bullets, with the other animal in hot pursuit.
"Whoa!" Nigel exclaimed when it became obvious that neither the kangaroos nor their attacker was returning. "That was a thylacoleo – a marsupial lion. It is not a real lion, of course, it is a marsupial like the possum and the kangaroo are, and its closest relative is the thylacine, or the marsupial wolf. The thylacine, incidentally, is also around – it died out only in the early 20th century, but there are none within our sight right now – the thylacoleo probably scared them off. Ah well, off we go to find our quarry."
And away they went.
/
While Nigel was walking about prehistoric Australia, things were the same as always in the Prehistoric Park itself, if one did not pay attention to the now-quiet tyrannosaurs.
"So what are you up to, Bob?" Suzanne the vet asked the groundskeeper as he was passing her by.
"Not much, just finished repairing the Triceratops' fences," the Scotsman grunted. "The newlyweds appear to be still in their honeymoon phase – reminds me of my own honeymoon – but better be safe than sorry and the fences had to be repaired soon anyways. How's Martha doing?"
"Oh fine, just in need of another haircut-"
"So soon?"
"Mammoth hair grows fast, it seems, and re-grows even faster. Now, I need to give Martha a haircut and she won't let me-"
"She's probably scared of the mites around your ankles. They're just small things, but Martha's kind of meek, so she's erring on the site of caution instead."
Suzanne blinked, as she remembered about the Smilodon cubs for the first time. They were keeping their distance from the woolly mammoth (for now), but they were glaring at Martha in the same manner a cat glares when it feels mean, and the large mammoth, who probably remembered the times when other large cats hunted her in Ice Age Eurasia, and stayed away.
"Oh dear, I forgot all about them. After Theo had scared them, they were on their best behavior and kept relatively quiet in public," Suzanne gushed. "We'll have to separate them from me for now-"
A loud bellow came from the downwards direction, causing everyone to stiffen regardless of their size and species. "That wasn't one of the tyrannosaurs," Bob muttered.
"No, it was the Deinosuchus instead," Suzanne sighed. "I wonder what is wrong now."
/
Back in prehistoric Australia, the sun was shining brightly and hotly, causing everyone to slow his or her pace.
"Part of the reason why the mega-animals of Australia died out," Nigel was saying, still cheerfully, "was because of the human activities, but another part was because of the climate: the Ice Age ended, the climate became wetter, but then Australia continued to move northwards and it became hotter and drier instead. Large animals, like Diprotodon, needed lots of food, so between the actual drought and the deforestation that the Australian aborigines made by burning down the brush, they had no food and died out, while smaller animals," Nigel leaned down and picked one up, "survived. This particular little fellow is the marsupial anteater, also known as the numbat. Back in our times, it is rather rare and endangered, but it still exists, unlike the thylacine, or-"
Nigel did not finish. There was rustling sound in the scrublands, and out came an echidna, but unlike the modern echidnas, this one was almost as tall as a man's waist...but that was where the differences ended: the giant echidna was just as spiny, with an anteater-like head, nearsighted eyes and pigeon-toed stance.
"This is a giant long-beaked echidna – unlike its little cousin, it didn't survive the arrival of humans in about a millennium or so, so let's see if we can't bring it our Park and rescue it from extinction."
Acting quickly, but not too quickly, since the echidna ignored them, instead busy eating ants from an anthill, Nigel and his crew began to set up their time portal. It was still a relatively complex task and they were not paying attention to their surroundings (unlike the little numbat, which quickly scurried away once Nigel put it down), and so it was quite a surprise, when the portal came on, and the thylacoleo came running in their direction – but this time it was being chased, not chasing...
/
Back at the crocodile lake, the reason for Deinosuchus' distress became clear once the Park's staff arrived: the Troodon was at it again. The small dinosaur was scavenging for food around the crocodiles' enclosure, staying well out of reach not just of the smaller Nile crocodiles, but of the Deinosuchus as well. The larger crocodilian was irritated, it kept stalking the Troodon, but the small dinosaur was obviously experienced at avoiding such animals and kept well out of reach, as it was said above.
"Oh, for crying aloud," muttered Bob as he searched through his supply bag. "Fortunately, I have some meat for just such an emergency-"
A beak larger than his hand, and as sharp as a medieval scimitar, reached out and grabbed that particular meat. Furthermore, this beak also belonged to the terror bird, which has also gotten out of its enclosure and was currently running away with the meat, making some sort of squawking sound. The Troodon looked in that direction, stiffened, and lunged after the retreating avian, clearly intent on stealing a piece for itself.
"Oh, for crying aloud," Bob muttered and joined the chase – and he was so intent on it, that he failed to hear Nigel's call over the walkie-talkie...
/
Few things could take Nigel by surprise, but when the thylacoleo that they seen earlier raced past them and through the now activated portal, they were surprised. When the thylaceleo's pursuer – a giant flightless bird – appeared on the scene, they were shocked.
"Now be very careful," Nigel advised his crew. "Though this bird is flightless, it isn't a modern emu or New Zealand's moa – in Australia this is a Genyornis, a very distant cousin to the modern ducks and geese... It has a belligerent temper but I am surprised to see it actually chase a thylacoleo like that..."
In reality, the Genyornis was not chasing anyone either – instead, it was also fleeing...from a brushfire, whose large and elongated tongues of smoking flames where seemingly reaching sky-high.
"Oh dear – before humans arrived there was no deliberately set fires, but naturally occurring brushfires occurred on a regular basis. In general, they were beneficial for animals, but if you got caught in one, like that giant echidna or the Genyornis... wait, the giant echidna?"
And indeed, while Nigel was instructing his people to leave, the giant echidna was just milling around, clearly confused: it could not see the fire, and there was no wind, so it could not properly smell it either. Consequently, it was rather surprised, when Nigel ran up to it, picked it up – all 26 and a half kg of it – and ran into the time portal just before the flames caught up to them...
/
And on the other side of the portal, Bob and his aides were able to corral the terror bird and the Troodon in an enclosure – sadly, it was right where the time portal would open. As a consequence, when the time portal did open, and several new creatures emerged on the scene, the confusion only got worse.
The thylacoleo did not waste any time, actually: in several leaps and bounds it climbed the barrier that surrounded the portal's area and thus gained the high ground, away from the rest of the action.
The Genyornis, on the other hand, stayed behind, staring angrily at the terror bird and making threatening notions with its beak, head and neck.
The terror bird was not impressed, but began to respond in kind, clearly looking to confront the relatively heavier and robust Genyornis. The Troodon seemingly did not interfere in the birds' duel, but at the same time it began to implement a flanking maneuver, apparently aiming to launch its' own attack at the newcomer.
It was at that moment that they were joined by Nigel, the giant echidna that he still carried, and his team on one hand, and by Bob and his aides, carrying several bags of animal feed, mixed with meat. Upon seeing it, the birds and the Troodon declared a temporary truce and chased after Bob and his team, leaving Nigel and his crew with the giant echidna...and the thylacoleo, who, upon seeing the changed circumstances, got down and promptly went on the offensive, just before one of Nigel's people shot it down with a tranquilizer dart.
"Glad that that's over," Nigel said brightly.
The giant echidna chose that moment to shift its position in his hands and to give him a long, sticky lick.
/
"Well, glad that that's over," Nigel was telling Suzanne later, when the thylacoleo and the Genyornis were put into their new home, close to the terror bird, the Troodon, and the two adult Smilodon. "The Genyornis is actually the more belligerent of the two – I did not expect that... How's the giant echidna?"
"Unharmed, and actually carries an egg in its ovaries," Suzanne replied brightly. "Therefore, soon we will have another giant echidna in our park."
"That's great news," Nigel beamed. "Say, aren't you usually being followed by the Smilodon cubs?"
"Yes, but they appear to have found a new playmate," Suzanne nodded, as she pointed up the path. There, the two Smilodon cubs were eyeing the thylacoleo through the wire and the large marsupial was eyeing them back, but not in a hostile way, unlike the Genyornis nearby. "Hopefully, they'll get along without any blood spilled."
"I hope so too," Nigel nodded, and the two of them continued to shave Martha the mammoth.
End