It has been over a year and half since the events of the first series. Previously, Nigel Marven went back to the Late Cretaceous period in Hell Creek, Montana, to rescue some Triceratops companions for Theo, as well as rescue mates for Terence & Matilda, the two Tyrannosaurus Rex siblings in the Park. The mission has been a roaring success, and I do mean literally roaring; currently Terence is proudly proclaiming his dominance as an apex predator with his enclosure. Nearby, his new brother-in-law, Tristan, a fully-grown male T-Rex, is also roaring loudly. Tristan has already mated with Matilda, while Terence has also done the same with his new mate, Jane. Both female tyrannosaurs should be expecting any time now.
It's not just Tyrannosaurus Rexes that are happy. Theo, the Park's resident male Triceratops, also has established mated relationships with his two mates, Rachel and Rae, and the Head Vet Suzanne is expecting the two Triceratops females to be laying eggs soon. Life is perfect for Theo; he has his two beloved girlfriends, an additional herd consisting solely of Triceratops females, and he has found a friendly sparring partner in the young bull Torosaurus that leads the herd that was also rescued by Nigel. The Triceratops & Torosaurus herds coexist in perfect harmony, having more than abundant lush vegetation to eat, and lots of fresh water from the creek in their enclosure.
It's been two weeks since that last mission. And now, Nigel is planning his next. At the current moment, he's on Mammoth Mount, observing Martha, the resident Woolly Mammoth, interacting the the Park's herd of African elephants. Nigel smiles as he sees Martha, along with the elephant matriarch and the matriarch's female calf, playing tag amidst a landscape of thin snow.
"We recognised the need for Martha to have a cold environment, that's why her enclosure now has numerous snowing machines and fans that blow out extremely cold air to simulate Ice Age conditions. She's liking it really well, and I'm just glad to see that she's interacting well with the matriarch and her calf. But I think Martha will be even more overjoyed to see more of her kind; we also have all the resources we need to ensure any mammoths we rescue get to enjoy Ice Age conditions here at the Park."
The cold air fans and snow machines have also been put in the enclosure of the Park's resident male Elasmotherium, a giant woolly rhino with a two-meter horn on its snout.
Meanwhile, the Park's Sabertooth Cats, or Smilodon, have been transferred to a much more spacious enclosure from their previous one in the original series, which turned out to be holding pens for them in order to breed. Their new enclosure largely resembles the savannas of prehistoric South America, with tall grasses and many large trees for shade, as well as towering boulders for them to climb on. The climbing structures have also been added to their enclosure for enrichment purposes. The Cats love their new enclosure, and currently Suzanne and big cat expert Saba Douglas-Hamilton are observing them.
Saba was an additional host that accompanied Nigel to the plains of prehistoric South America, 10,000 years ago to rescue the Smilodon that were on the brink of extinction. They managed to rescue the resident male, Shane, and his mate, Sabrina. Initially hostile towards each other – ok, actually it was Sabrina who was flat out rejecting Shane initially – Suzanne managed to get the two Cats to successfully breed.
"They're really cute. I'd never thought I'd get to see actual baby Sabertooth Cats in captivity." Saba said in awe to Suzanne. The Head Vet smiled and nodded. Shane & Sabrina's cubs, Nolan and Kara, were the first Smilodon cubs to be born in captivity, and they have now been weaned off milk and onto meat. But for now, they are just playing happily in their enclosure under the watchful eye of their parents.
Suzanne's been concerned over certain behavior that both adults have been showing lately. They have been making deep roars and throaty vocalizations in their throats for almost a week now, and are becoming increasingly restless. Therefore, Nigel and the team invited Saba over to take a look.
"Do you know what's the problem?" Suzanne inquired.
"Hmmm... it's just a guess but I think that they're lonely. Sabertooth Cats had social lives much like lions do in Africa, and like lions they lived in prides of multiple females and one or two males. I think Shane & Sabrina here are pining for extra companions." Saba answered.
That did it. Nigel planned out the next two missions; he would go back to Siberia, 150,000 years ago to the time when Woolly Mammoths were thriving in abundance, in order to rescue some companions for Martha, and possibly the Elasmotherium as well. Saba meanwhile, would go back to the same time period, except to the plains of South America. She didn't want to interfere with Nigel's rescue of the Terror Bird, and 150,000 years ago, Smilodon were still enjoying their success as the apex predators of South America's megafauna.
The time portal is set to take both Nigel and Saba back to their time periods. (Yes... cue the soundtrack as Nigel & Saba walk through the time portals)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Siberia, 150,000 BC
Nigel, clad in all-out winter wear, drove his snowmobile through the steppes of Ice Age Siberia. Once again, the steppes were occupied by vast herds of Woolly Mammoths, all peacefully grazing on the grasses. As Nigel observed the herds of Mammoths, we noticed a herd of huge elk grazing several hundred meters away from the Mammoths, and went over to get a closer look. The male elk sported colossal antlers, antlers so huge & thick it was a wonder they were over to hold their heads high at all.
"Those are Megaloceras; they're a type of giant elk that existed alongside mammoths, and their antlers really are a sight to behold." The Megaloceras grazed peacefully as well. Just then, Nigel spotted several shapes slinking through the tall grasses towards the Megaloceras. He looked through his binoculars. Several huge cats with pale-beige fur, tinged with snow, were heading towards the herd of elk.
"Wow...those are Cave Lions from Eurasia. During the Ice Age, lions lived not only in Africa, but in Europe and North America as well, and fossils were found mainly in caves. That's why we call them Cave Lions. Cave Lions in Europe were much larger than their African cousins, and they were the top predators of this age."
All of a sudden, a Cave Lion leapt out of the grass; the Megaloceras all bellowed in fright and stampeded. Nigel quickly moved out of the way as a particularly large stag almost trampled over him in its haste to get away. The other Cave Lions emerged out of their hiding places, attempting to attack the Megaloceras. However, after several minutes of chasing, the Megaloceras proved to be faster, and the Lions were forced to stop the chase.
Just then, they turned their attention to other animals. A group of four adult female Woolly Mammoths were grazing peacefully, with a lone female Mammoth calf next to one of the females. "Oh no... the Lions are going to go for that calf, and it's completely vulnerable." But Nigel had a plan.
Driving his snowmobile, he hurtled at full speed towards the group of Woolly Mammoths, making a lot of noise with the engine. Confused and spooked by the strange moving object, the four female Mammoths along with the calf bolted in the other direction. The three Cave Lions roared and followed, frustrated that their prey was getting away. As the Mammoths ran for safety, the time portal flared to life, and the group of behemoths ran through, followed by Nigel on his snow-mobile, followed by a trio of hungry Cave Lions.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The group of Woolly Mammoths had been shepherded into an observation pen, whilst the Cave Lions were in another, gorging on a dead cow. "This is great, Nigel," Bob came over, clapping Nigel's back. "Martha finally has her own kind as company."
Several hours later, the four female Woolly Mammoths and the female calf were moved to Mammoth Mount, where there were more than enough snow machines and cold-air fans to keep them happy and comfortable. Martha was overjoyed as she practically bounded over to where the new Mammoths were, and they began interacting with rumbles and trumpets. Martha and the other female Mammoths locked trunks as an indication of sisterhood and friendship, and the African elephant matriarch was also introduced to the other Mammoths as well. As for the female Mammoth calf... well she was frisked off to play with her new friend, the female elephant calf of the matriarch.
The Cave Lions were also resettled into an equally chilly enclosure resembling the stepps of Pleistocene Siberia; there were two females and a dominant male. Their enclosure was located opposite to the Smilodon enclosure.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
South America, 150,000 BC
Meanwhile, Saba had arrived in the plains of South America. She had brought along a field guide about the megafauna that Nigel had given her. From what she had read, there were three subspecies of Smilodon: Smilodon gracilis, Smilodon fatalis, and Smilodon populator. The largest and most muscular of the three, bigger and stronger than the largest Bengal Tigers, was Smilodon populator – the species of which Shane, Sabrina, Nolan and Kara were of.
Saba was now examining the great herds of Toxodon that she had come across. She marvelled at how similar they were to hippos of today, as many Toxodon were shown wallowing in the nearby river. "It's amazing how similar these Toxodon are to hippos. They certainly are really bulky and massively built; this field guide says they were ideal prey for Smilodon to take down. If I remain around here, maybe I'll be able to find some Sabertooth Cats."
Saba soon set up her area at a shady area near the Toxodon herd. As she continued to observe the herd, she noticed a colossal animal coming near to her shaded area. She gaped at it; it was a furry animal, bear-like in appearance and as large as an elephant. However, it seemed lazy and sluggish, and it walked on the sides of its paws, paws that had huge claws on it. Checking her field guide, she found that it was a Megatherium, a giant ground sloth. "Amazing," she said, as she looked through her binoculars to get a good look at the giant.
Knowing that her friend Nigel would love a specimen like this at the Park, she grabbed a cluster of leaves before holding it out in front of her. The Megatherium sniffed the leaves before following her, making low bellows from its throat. It followed Saba through the time portal, and into the safety of the 21st century.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As the keepers relocated the Megatherium into a new enclosure, Nigel had already returned to Siberia, where he was now putting the next part of his plan for the Mammoths into action. "I really wanted to breed Woolly Mammoths in captivity, so now what we've gotta do is to find a bull Mammoth that's ready for mating. Hopefully, we'll also find another Elasmotherium."
As Nigel walked on, he soon found what he was looking for. A female Elasmotherium was grazing nearby, many meters away from the distant herd of Woolly Mammoths. Nearby, to Nigel's surprise, were several other woolly rhinos that, though they didn't have horns nearby as long as the Elasmotherium, were still huge and deadly. "Those are Coelodonta, the most common species of woolly rhinoceros found in Pleistocene Eurasia, and while they have two horns instead of one, these guys still are formidable and powerful." A pair of Coelodonta were grazing next to the Elasmotherium; they were slightly smaller than the one-horned rhino, but they were still huge – almost twice the size of modern rhinos – and equally as shaggy, covered in reddish-brown fur.
"I'd love to have all these rhinos back at Prehistoric Park." As Nigel was contemplating on how to bring them back, his solution arrived unexpectedly. A series of thunderous trumpets and bellows caused Nigel to turn his attention to something coming his way, with wide eyes. It was a colossal Bull Woolly Mammoth, it's immense tusks corkscrew-curved compared to the more dainty-straight tusks of the females. Nigel could tell that this male was fully-grown and in musth – he was ready to mate, and was extremely aggressive and irritable. His presence was starting to unnerve to usually crusty and irritable rhinos, and they all began to snort in fear and move away from the increasingly agitated Bull Mammoth.
"This is fantastic; a healthy bull Woolly Mammoth, this could be our chance to breed the Woolly Mammoth in captivity. And if he can lure the rhinos through the time portal as well..." Nigel immediately got to work.
"HEY!" Nigel yelled waving his hands at them. "Over here!" These animals admittedly had never seen a human before; humans hadn't yet migrated here yet. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the Elasmotherium & Coelodonta had very poor eyesight and a heated temperament that made them wary and annoyed at almost everything. And a towering Bull Woolly Mammoth always looking to kill someone. In that instance, all four animals all found someone to take out their aggression out of – the one and only Nigel Marven. As Nigel ran for his life, he was followed by a trio of snorting rhinos looking to turn him into a shish-kebab and a raging pachyderm wanting to stomp him into meat puddles that ran through the time portal as it flared to life. Yup... Nigel was so loved at the moment.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
After returning to South America, Saba has finally caught sight of what she's looking for.
"Look," she said. "There's two Smilodon, females by the looks of it because while they are still very robust compared to lions they're quite slender, males are larger and more muscular in comparison." She was comparing their size and build to that described in her field guide.
The larger of the two female Smilodon was supporting the smaller one, who looked like she was... limping? Saba looked through her binoculars and found that the smaller Smilodon's left front paw was very swollen and red. "It looks like it's infected... Suzanne will be able to heal her back at the Park. It seems that these two are sisters." As Saba continued to observe them, she suddenly saw the larger Sabertooth adopt a predatory stance, while her sister limped over to another area to rest. Saba followed the Cat's line of sight and saw what she was stalking; a family group of elephants with huge curved tusks were grazing nearby.
"According to the field guide, these are Stegomastodons. They're not real elephants, but they're closely related. They belong to the family of gomphotheres; it seems that Sabertooth Cats will go for these big guys as well." The female Smilodon was stalking the lone male calf in the family, who had wandered off a little from the two adult female Stegomastodons there.
Saba already knew what to do. Tranquilize the female, then her sister, and get her back to the Park. That seemed like a good plan, but she didn't count on the Stegomastodons spotting the Sabertooth Cat first while she was busy loading her tranquilizer rifle. The adults trumpeted furiously, swinging their huge heads as they brandished their tusks and trunks. Having seen that the hunt had failed for the moment, the female attempted to mock charge the family, snarling and revealing her massive 8-inch canines that could sever arteries and crush bones. The family of Stegomastodons quickly panicked, shepherding their calf away, right into Saba! However, Saba had already improvised, as she opened the time portal and the Stegomastodons fled through into the present.
The female Smilodon looked on curiously at the time portal, debating on whether or not she should follow. She didn't want to leave her injured sister behind. Just then, she snarled in fury and confusion as a tranquilizer dart hit her flanks. Whipping her head around she saw the strange biped who had done this, and with an enraged roar she tried to lunge towards her, but the effects of the drug began to settle in. Soon after, she collapsed to the ground, sleep overtaking her.
Next, as the smaller female Smilodon came over to check on her downed sister, Saba also tranquilized her and with the help of a team of keepers, they managed to load the unconscious Sabertooth Cats into the present.
The missions were over. Both Nigel and Saba had succeeded.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In the 21st century, Suzanne was busy treating the female Smilodon's infected paw. "I think she's going to find, she's a bit malnourished but she's not in any life danger because her sister's been hunting food for her. I'm just gonna apply some antibiotics and let her heal naturally."
Bob and the keepers have put in the female Elasmotherium and the two Coelodonta – a male & female – in with the current male Elasmotherium. The male rhino seemed pleased with his new female companion and they stuck together like glue, and he also accepted the presence of the other two different rhinos. Soon all four rhinos were in their enclosure casually grazing on the grasses there.
The family of Stegomastodons had also integrated themselves well with the Woolly Mammoths and especially the African elephants, considering they lived in conditions similar to the bush elephants themselves. The male Stegomastodon calf became one more member of the clique of playmates that included the female Mammoth calf and the female elephant calf. Martha and the other female Woolly Mammoths meanwhile, were getting introduced to the huge male that Nigel had brought back.
Nigel and Bob watched as the bull Mammoth, whom they named Donald Trunk, approached Martha carefully, no longer displaying any aggressive behavior but softly rumbling and trumpeting to Martha. Martha held her head low in submission, trumpeting softly in response, but eventually Nigel & Bob smiled and hugged each other when Donald and Martha's trunks intertwined together in a mammoth embrace. It turns out that the Woolly Mammoth will be the next prehistoric animal to be bred in captivity.
The Megatherium was getting comfortable in his new enclosure; there were plenty of trees of browse from, plenty of shade, plenty of water provided for him, and no predators whatsoever.
Lastly, the two female Smilodon – the older sister named Vitani and the younger named Emilia – were moved into their new enclosure. Sabrina instantly took to the new females, as she and the sisters exchanged a chorus of chuffs and purrs that indicated that they were welcome of each other's company. Nolan and Kara were also bounding around their new 'aunties' excitedly. While Shane, as the alpha male Smilodon, asserted his dominance to them with low growls, staring Vitani and Emilia down from his 'throne' on the high rocks in his enclosure as they bowed their heads submissively in front of him. After officially welcoming them into his pride by chuffing at them, he continued making low, rumbling roars that were answered by similar low roars coming from the dominant male Cave Lion in the opposite enclosure.
Suzanne, Sarah and Saba smiled as they beheld the harmonious sight of the Smilodon pride getting along. It was just beautiful to admire.
Finally, Martha the Woolly Mammoth not only has companions of her own kind, but the opportunity to be a mother as well. The Sabertooth Cats also now had a full pride of their own, and extra opportunities to breed and find hope in future generations.
Creatures rescued:
Eurasian Cave Lions – 1 Male, 2 Females
Woolly Mammoths – 1 Male (Donald Trunk), 4 Females, 1 Female Calf
Coelodonta – 1 Male, 1 Female
Elasmotherium – 1 Female
Megatherium – 1 Male
Stegomastodon – 2 Females, 1 Male Calf
Smilodon – 2 Females (Vitani & Emilia)
Author's Note: Yes, yes, yes, I know the bull Mammoth was named after Donald Trump, there was really no disrespect intended, sorry if I offend any patriotic Americans reading this. And yes, the female Smilodon are named after Vitani from The Lion King 2, and Emilia from Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones – I just have so much respect for the character even though I don't really follow Game of Thrones, she's an admirable queen.