There is something missing from our world. The amazing animals that time has left behind. But what if we can bring them back? What if extinction didn't have to be forever? We're going back in time on a safari with a difference, as wild life adventurer Nigel Marven plunges into pre-history to rescue creatures on the brink of extinction. His plan is to bring them back to the safety of the present and give them a second chance.
This time Nigel travels back to Mesozoic Japan to rescue a plesiosaur and some rather large dinosaurs that ruled there.
Welcome to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park.
Chapter 24- Dinosaurs in the Land of the Rising Sun
Another day dawns on Prehistoric Park and Chiyo is visiting some of the park's Jurassic residents on Nublar.
One of the Allosaurs flicked its head and a chunk of meat slithered down its throat. When they first arrived at the park she had thought that there was little difference between them and the Rex but now she knew better. They were more agile and frail compared to the Tyrannosaurs. She had seen the Rex crush bone in their jaws while the Allosaurs had to pick their away around the more thicker bones. The Allosaur made a deep rumble for a roar just as Nigel arrived holding a file. He showed her a picture of a sickle like claw.
"What would you imagine owned this claw?" he asked smiling.
"Well it looks like a raptor claw. It's too big to be the ones we have in the park, maybe a Deinonychus. No too big. Wait a Utahraptor."
"You made the same mistake as the palaeontologist who originally named it. Look at the claw of our Allosaur."
She looked at one of the claws of the Allosaur who was being joined by one of his pack members. Then she realised where it had come from.
"This belonged to Fukuiraptor. It was small compared to our Allosaurs though. From early Cretaceous Japan they would have been top predator. We've never been on a mission to Japan so this recent discovery would be a wonderful edition to the park though I'm not stopping there. We'll take the Ichthyosaur to the seas to catch a species of Elasmosaur called Futabasaurus. They lived in Late Cretaceous Fukushima but I asked Arnold to open the portal directly from early to late Cretaceous when we're on the boat."
"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Chiyo asked.
"Arnold knows what he is doing."
Nigel's first rescue mission is for the Fukuiraptor when Japan looked very different. The well renowned four islands had yet to form and many of Japan's natural landmarks looked very different. Here in the early Cretaceous 99million years ago dinosaurs ruled.
The yacht emerged from the portal and the team got on a lifeboat to sail to the mainland. A pterosaur swooped overhead and flew off into the distance. Early Cretaceous Japan looked very different from modern day Japan; ferns grew in the place of grass and only few flowering plants formed the forests. In the distance a volcano rumbled with a ground shaking force.
"That volcano doesn't bode well for the residents. Now where to look. Fukuiraptor was small and their main prey Fukuisaurus wasn't too big. Maybe that clearing over there may be good; plains for the Fukuisaurus to eat but enough foliage for them to hide in if need be. As well as a carnivore to do the same."
"What type of dinosaur was Fukuisaurus? A sauropod."
"No an iguanodontid. We've only discovered the skull of Fukuisaurus so we know little about it but the similarity between dinosaurs allows us to make a good estimate."
Dinosaurs in the same sub-family like Iguanodon and Fukuisaurus were quite genetically similar so their behaviour and lifestyle did not differ too much however they were still genetically dissimilar to still be different.
They reached the clearing. Miles of horsetails and ferns grew as they hid among some early flowering plants. There was a deep rumbling noise as a dull green iguanodon with black stripes along the back. They were around four metres long and about seven foot high. One big male stood one his hind legs and became even taller. Despite regularly working with prehistoric beasts seeing this sight was awe inspiring.
"There a herd of Fukuisaurus," Nigel whispered.
The iguandons started stripping horsetails of their leaves before grinding the foliage. The iguanodontids could not chew but could grind foliage to the same effect. They remained like this for an hour while Nigel looked ominously at the volcano. It started spewing noxious clouds of ash and sulphur from its peak. A Fukuisaurus near the edge of the herd looked up from her horsetail meal before rearing up onto her hindquarters. If it was possible the iguanodon seemed agitated and started making high pitched warbles of terror. Her fellow iguanodons started making the same cries of terror which made a youngster run behind a large female.
"What is that?" Nigel said in shock as a figure burst from some foliage. It was just under than four metres long and just short of the height of a human shoulder. However it did sport the characteristic eye crest of an Allosaur. Unlike the tyrannosaurs that lived at the same time this therapod lacked feathers. It was red in colour with grey stripes and underbelly with its crest being yellow. The iguanodontids reared up and started to run. Nigel took advantage of this and the fact that the park had yet to exhibit any form of an iguanodon and ran to the head of the herd where he opened the portal sending them through. Only a disoriented youngster with an injured leg lagged behind but it was too late. The allosaur opened its jaws and slammed the dagger like teeth in the roof of the mouth onto the neck of the youngster. It made a feeble shriek and the allosaur only had to repeat the feat once more.
"Is that the Fukuiraptor?" Chiyo asked.
"Yeah. They hunt just like other Allosaurs. Those teeth are too weak to crush bone like Tyrannosaurs so they slam the teeth to act like almost a sword to kill their prey. Just…woah."
A larger allosaur arrived on the scene who immediately roared at the other one. It was a female and heavily scarred. The male knew not to fight and backed down.
In the dinosaur world why hunt when you can steal. Nigel should though remember not to get close to a dinosaur that has just lost its meal.
The male ran at Nigel but he still had the portal at hand so he simply opened the portal. The purpose of Prehistoric Park though was to breed the animals that they caught so he would have to catch the female. Luckily for him there was a volcano whose powerful eruption scared the female in the same direction.
"Quick to the yacht!" Nigel yelled after he had closed the portal. They quickly ran to the boat and sailed to the yacht who then passed through the portal at the head of the yacht. Arnold had rigged the hand held portals to take them to the park but the portal on the yacht to Fukushima 65million years ago. They were miles out to see as the waves gently lapped against the hull. In the cabin Nigel opened the file to show their target: the Futabasaurus.
"This is the first discovered species of plesiosaur in Japan," Nigel explained "Seven metres long and similar to the elasmosaurus. Their long neck allows them to sneak right up to shoals of fish without startling them."
Khan made his signature chum special and threw it into the water. From tests Suzanne had done with the Elasmosaurus and Cryptoclidus at the park they had found out that plesiosaurs had a strong sense of smell so the chum would easily attract the Futabasaurus. However it did attract some unwanted attention with the iconic fin of sharks piercing the waves. After an hour they caught the bite that they wanted. A giant plesiosaur was sniffing around the chum so Khan opened the portal which was now programmed straight to the park. They had to wait another hour for another appeared but struck lucky with three arriving at the same time; one being a mother with her young.
"Okay Khan time to go home!" Nigel yelled.
Problem struck. Instead of seeing the typical blue when they normally passed through the portal the world went violet and they appeared a few metres off shore. However it was not the shore of any of the Five Deaths or Isla Nublar or the rocky outcrops which surrounds the island chain and seprates it from the rest of the ocean.
"Nigel where are we?" Chiyo asked.
They went on land and quickly found some form of landmark. It was a pagoda but their jaws dropped when they saw what was draped out of one of the windows. There was the sign of the Tokugawa family on the flag which hung out of the pagoda. Nigel looked at the date on the portal which was now refusing to open; it read 1567. They were in feudal Japan.
Back in the park there is a crisis brewing.
"Can't you find them?" Hammond asked panicked.
"No!" Arnold replied angrily "I knew this would go wrong."
The park head of staff were huddled in the control room as Arnold tried to get the portal working again. Suddenly a shape appeared at the computer and started typing which scared Arnold beyond belief.
"Who are you and get out I can arrest you!" Nima Cruz yelled at the shape.
He was dressed exactly as Hammond's old friend the Green Stripe except that he had a cicada on his helmet instead of green lettering.
"Don't worry Nima," Hammond said "It's Green Stripe's brother. How are you doing Cicada?"
"Fine Hammond. I am impressed by your park here. Particularly how you have managed to house the aquatic species."
"I'm sorry," Suzanne said "How can you talk trivialities when our friends are trapped who knows where."
"Suzanne he helped draw up the blueprints for the portal," Hammond explained "He distrusted Churchill, Stalin, Truman, Chiang Kai Sheik and Mao Tse Tung so refused to help actually make it."
The computer then made a positive sound. On the screen it said: Server Open. Ready for Field Portal. Location: 2nd May 1567… It then gave the longitude and latitude. He had done it.
"Now just for my brother to fix the field portal," Cicada explained.
In feudal Japan the team were not in luck.
A samurai stepped out of the pagoda and started yelling at them. Chiyo tried to reply in Japanese.
"He's saying I'm a demon for my red hair. Nigel he said he will vanquish us!"
The samurai drew his katana and went at them. Nigel and Chiyo hugged each other and waited for the blade. It never came, only a clinking noise. They looked to see another katana which was blocking the samurai's. Green Stripe was holding it. He kicked the samurai in the stomach and proceeded to battle the samurai. It was a short battle and the samurai was knocked unconscious.
"To the yacht," Green Stripe said.
On the yacht the portal light up, ready for use. He turned to the:
"I would advise not to do this again," he said "At least you did not try to change time. Once I had to deal with someone who wanted to stop World War Two by assassinating Hitler at Munich. They succeeded but Goebbels and Hess took power and the Nazis won as it was Hitler's idea to invade the USSR before Britain had been defeated."
Nigel looked longingly at the sea. A group of sea lions were swimming around the yacht. The Japanese Sea Lion was now extinct thanks to a mixture of hunting, over fishing and naval battles during the war destroying their habitat.
"Nigel if you wish we will bring home the sea lions," Green Stripe said.
They put more chum in the water and sent them through the portal. They quickly followed suite. However when the crew met them at the portal when they went to thank the brothers they had vanished…
Next time Nigel travels back to Eocene Germany to rescue an early ancestor.
An animal jumps through the trees.
Suzanne checks up on the pregnant Gallimimus
The Gallmimus squawks
And Cronus tries his luck with the female Rex
Two Tyrannosaurs circle one another.
Rescued this chapter:
2 Fukuiraptor 1 female, 1 male
17 Fukuisaurus 13 female, 4 male
4 Futabusaurus 2 male, 2 female
7 Japanese Sea Lion 4 female, 3 male
Thanks for reading and if you can look at my new blog . .uk. Also to Montreal X I will be doing your chapter but after a few others which I have planned, mostly because I just got Murdered: Soul Suspect which is set in Salem.