In Modern day South Dakota, Mount Rushmore stood with 4 of the most famous of America's presidents. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. 4 presidents who played important roles of America in their time of American history.
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
The granite faces of the presidents, on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, celebrate 200 years of American history.
But not far from here is another important landmark.
65 million years old, it's some of the last ground the dinosaurs walked on.
The sun shines over the Cretaceous Earth over North America.
During the Late Cretaceous, the great Inland Sea retreated, causing a dramatic shift in the environment. Now forests and fields stretch for hundreds of miles in every direction.
The Inland Sea soon retreated no longer connecting to the Gulf of Mexico, though still covers part of the interior of North America.
The early morning sun shines over Cretaceous South Dakota which looks similar to some areas to present-day Florida.
Grass has yet to evolve so the plains are covered with ferns and herb-like plants.
The sun slowly continues rising as echoes of animals rang through the landscape.
South Dakota
65 Million Years Ago
The echo of a dinosaur roar echoes as a Cretaceous bird flies by.
In the twilight of the Cretaceous, evolution is in overdrive.
In the forest, a spider rests on a palmetto leaf.
Towards midmorning, at a large clearing by the forest, a herd of Triceratops grazed on the ground plants as an Ornithomimus feeds close by. And a large pterosaur soars overhead.
After 160 million years, the size and sophistication of the dinosaurs is breathtaking.
But these creatures of the last of their kind.
The Wild Kratts recently arrived as they explored the landscape as the Triceratops herd continues feeding.
"I can't believe we're actually in South Dakota." Aviva said.
"Yeah, looks like we're in where Black Hills, South Dakota will 1 day be." Koki said.
"Yep. And South Dakota is homed to lots of cool dinosaurs." Martin said. "Like Triceratops."
"Now that's a cool dinosaur." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, one of the most famous of all dinosaurs." Chris said.
Triceratops is one of the largest animals on the Northern Plains.
They watched the Triceratops feed as an Ornithomimus rushed by.
Although it's related to Ziniceratops, time has made a dramatic difference.
"Wow, I can see how different Ziniceratops and Triceratops are." Aviva said looking through her CreaturePod showing a Ziniceratops and Triceratops next to each other.
"And look at that head." Chris said. "It's a third of the whole body length."
These are giants, twice the size of a rhinoceros.
Their heads are huge, up to 11 feet long, and their frills are 7 feet wide.
"Wow, these were some of our favorite dinosaurs as kids." Martin said. "And here we are seeing a whole herd."
"Aviva, you have to make a Power Suit of this guy." Chris said.
"Triceratops Power Disc, coming up." Aviva said bringing her M.I.K out and starts programming.
Triceratops are plant-eaters. They roam the plains in herds, grazing on ferns and small trees like palmettos. While keeping an eye on their young.
Among the herd, The Wild Kratts can even a few youngsters playing around.
As the Triceratops continued grazing on the ferns, a Triceratops bellows out as another plant-eating dinosaur was feeding close by. And is one of the most recognizable species.
"Hey, check it out." Chris said spotting it. "A Hadrosaur."
"A duckbill dinosaur?" Jimmy said.
"Yeah, this is Edmontosaurus." Martin said. "This one used to be called Anatotitan, a name that means Giant Duck."
"Till they were renamed Edmontosaurus Annectens that is." Chris said. "There's also Edmontosaurus Regalis that lives further north."
"Well, I still think it's a cool name." Aviva said.
"Me too." Koki said.
Of all the plant-eaters, Anatotitan is the most efficient because of the way it processes food. Members of the Hadrosaur family, they're famous for their bills which look like a duck's.
The Wild Kratts watched as the Edmontosaurus herd graze.
Hadrosaurs tend to be big, up to 30 feet long.
But Anatotitan is even bigger. They range up to 40 feet, the length of a bus.
"Wow, these guys are big." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, Edmontosaurus is the biggest Hadrosaur species in North America." Chris said.
"They also have an even bigger cousin in Asia which is the true biggest." Martin said. "Called Shantungosaurus, they can reach 50 feet."
"Whoa, that's big." Koki said.
Here size is no accident.
A loud trumpeting roar was heard as the Edmontosaurus herd turns to 2 Triceratops that were probably jousting.
3 million years ago, a monster arrived in South Dakota.
Now it's the Scourge of the American West:
In the forest, a large 3-toed foot stomps on the ground as another foot pass by and the foot lifts up.
The owner of the foot, belongs to a legendary predator.
A monster that has terrorize western North America for 3 million years. And of all the North American predators throughout it's history, it's the biggest, meanest, and scariest of them all.
Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The Tyrannosaurus walks through the forest as it's feet hits the ground with thuds and crashed through the underbrush.
And soon came to a stop as the T. Rex watches the distance and growled.
T. Rex is the ultimate predator, stalking North America from Canada, to probably as far south to northern Mexico. For 3 million years, it stalked Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and the Dakotas. Every animal living in it's territory was living in constant fear of it, and Tyrannosaurus would even venture out of it's own territory every now and then.
T. rex is the consummate killing machine. Its skull is a lethal weapon.
The Tyrannosaurus slowly nears the edge of the forest as it watches the Triceratops. One of it's many sources of prey.
Although it's 40 feet long, it's not the size of the animal that makes it deadly, it's the size of its mouth.
T. Rex has the strongest bite of any land predator that has ever existed. A bone-crushing 12,800 pounds of force.
The bigger the mouth, the bigger the bite.
The T. Rex continued lightly growling.
"Towards the end of the Cretaceous, the Tyrannosaurs produced their largest version: an animal called Tyrannosaurus Rex." Dr. Philip Currie said. "And other families of dinosaurs did much the same thing."
Dr PHILIP CURRIE
Royal Tyrell Museum, Alberta
"Like Triceratops, because the inland sea withdrew from North America, and as it withdrew we had the introduction of a continental climate." Dr. Philip Currie said. "The summers were hotter, the winters were cooler, the days were warmer, and the nights were cooler, and under this kind of climatic regime, selection tends to favor large size and animals."
The sun shines over Cretaceous South Dakota.
South Dakota
65 Million Years Ago
In the air, a large pterosaur flies overhead.
Quetzalcoatlus, the king of the pterosaurs.
The Quetzalcoatlus screeches as it soars through the air.
Named after an Aztec God, with a wingspan of 40 feet, this is one of the largest animals that ever flew.
The Quetzalcoatlus continues soaring as then Chris and Martin appeared on their Falcon Flyers, and the pterosaur easily dwarfs them. And their Falcon Flyers easily fit underneath each wing.
"I can't believe it, we're actually flying with the biggest flying creature of all time." Martin said.
"Yeah, a Quetzalcoatlus." Chris said.
"Quetzal?" Aviva said through Chris' CreaturePod. "You mean, like the Serpent God of the Aztec?"
"Yeah, that's what their name means." Chris said.
"But how does an animal of that size even get off the ground?" Koki asked.
"Scanning now." Martin said scanning the Quetzalcoatlus with his CreaturePod.
A pterosaur has no feathers, its wings are made of a single membrane that stretches from the elongated fourth finger on its hands, to its ankles.
"Like bats, a pterosaur has skin stretching from a finger to it's ankle." Martin said.
The scan then shows the Quetzalcoatlus' right arm in an X-ray.
Its arm bones are hollow and thinner than a postcard.
"And just like a bird, their bones are hollow." Chris said. "Allowing lighter weight to the animal."
Tiny fibers, called actinofibrils, stiffen the membrane to give its wings lift.
"And the wings have actinofibrils, tiny fibers that stiffen the wing membranes." Martin said.
"That's almost like how a bat wing is with the elongated fingers between webbing." Aviva said.
"Exactly." Chris said.
Although Quetzalcoatlus can fly under its own power, more often it glides on thermals, scanning the ground for a meal.
The Quetzalcoatlus screeches as it flies overhead with the Kratt Brothers behind it, and soon they flew down and land on the ground near a Triceratops carcass.
Today, the carcass of a dead dinosaur proves irresistible.
The Quetzalcoatlus then crawls over to the carcass, and Aviva, Koki and Jimmy join up with the brothers as the Triceratops herd were nearby still.
"Wow, it's almost like seeing a real dragon." Jimmy said.
"Yeah, Quetzalcoatlus is huge." Martin said. "And tall as well. It could look a giraffe in the eye."
"And this guy can probably cross half a continent in a single day if it wanted with those wings." Chris said.
Quetzalcoatlus may soar like an eagle, but on land, it's a fish out of water.
The Wild Kratts watched as the Quetzalcoatlus feeds on the carcass.
"Wow, looks like Quetzalcoatlus is a scavenger." Martin said. "Feeding off carcasses of dinosaurs."
But any small animal foolish enough to get in it's way, met a gruesome end.
"Hey, how's it going with the Triceratops Power Disc?" Chris asked.
"Another 2 minutes and it'll be ready." Aviva said.
They soon left the Quetzalcoatlus to feed, and head back to the Triceratops herd.
Nearby, Triceratops is feasting on shrubs.
The last in a long line of horned dinosaurs, their ancestors migrated from Asia.
They watched as the Triceratops graze on the shrubs, while 2 youngsters play around as one rolled on it's back.
"Wow, these guys are packed with serious creature power." Martin said.
"Yeah, those horns are 3 feet long." Chris said. "Perfect use for jousting, and to discourage predators. This is a 12 ton powerhouse."
With horns as long as broom handles, and hides as tough as a rhino's, these dinosaurs have only one known enemy.
"And... done!" Aviva announced as 2 gray Triceratops Power Discs emerge from a slot.
"Awesome." Chris said as he and Martin took the discs.
They then inserted them into their Power Vests, and then carefully went over to a Triceratops not wanting to spook it. They then they touched the Triceratops by it's tail, and then press the Activation Button.
The Triceratops then noticed a blue and green flash behind it as it turns and saw Chris and Martin in Triceratops Power Suits. And thought it was looking at 2 strange members of it's own kind.
"Whoa, these horns are so cool!" Chris said checking out his horns.
In the forest, a 3-toed foot suddenly stomps on the ground over a stick as it snapped.
A Triceratops was feeding when it heard it.
Soon, the whole herd was alerted as well as the Wild Kratts.
"What was that?" Aviva said.
Sensing danger, the group closed ranks.
Then the Triceratops roars out and got into a defensive stance as the 2 youngster quickly ran pass the adults to hide behind them.
"What's happening?" Koki asked.
"I think a predator is close by." Chris said.
They then joined the Triceratops herd as they roared.
In the forest, loud footsteps hit the ground with a thud as a large head with teeth like railroad spikes watches the herd and snorts.
The Triceratops herd stood shoulder to shoulder as they roared out.
They watched the tree line knowing what's there.
Suddenly, the Tyrannosaurus erupts out from the trees and charges towards the herd.
"Whoa, Tyrannosaurus!" Martin yelled.
The Triceratops roared as they stood their ground as the T. Rex rushed towards them, and then came to a halt and roars out at them.
Head-on, nothing can be more menacing than the frill and horns of an angry Triceratops.
The T. Rex roars at the herd as it tries to find a weak spot in the angry wall of adult Triceratops, but they showed no weakness as they roared out at the T. Rex as Chris and Martin stood with them and Aviva, Koki and Jimmy behind.
Nearby, the Queztalcoatlus lifts it's head up from feeding and turns to the herd to see what was happening.
"Wow, I can't believe we've actually met a T. Rex." Chris said almost feeling he was dreaming.
"That's the King of Dinosaurs, right there." Martin said.
"Whoa, it's huge." Aviva said.
"Wait, that's it look kinda small to anyone?" Koki asked noticing the Tyrannosaur's size.
"Now that you mentioned it, he does." Martin said.
Aviva then scans the T. Rex with her CreaturePod as it backs away from the herd roaring.
"Let's see." Aviva said reading the scan. "This T. Rex is only 17 feet long, and it's only 10 years old."
"Wow, so these T. Rex is only a youngster." Chris said.
At 17 feet from tip to tail, this T. Rex is a teenager, less than half the size of it's parents.
The T. Rex then noticed the Queztalcoatlus.
The herd can wait.
"Uh... it's not thinking of going after the Queztalcoatlus, is it?" Aviva asked.
"I think it is." Chris said. "Queztalcoatlus are most vulnerable when on the ground."
At a mere 200 pounds, Queztalcoatlus is hamburger for this youngster.
The young T. Rex then charges towards the pterosaur, and the Queztalcoatlus quickly spreads it's wings and leaps into air as the T. rex leaps over the Triceratops carcass as it chased after it.
The Queztalcoatlus flew to gain speed as the young Tyrannosaurus was right behind it.
At a top speed of 30 miles an hour, a young T. Rex is one of the fastest dinosaurs around.
The T. Rex soon closes in and snaps it's jaws to snatch the pterosaur, but the Queztalcoatlus quickly gains height and flies off as the Tyrannosaur gave up the hunt.
"Phew. He got away." Chris said.
Soon, the T. Rex turns away giving up the hunt and heads off.
The Triceratops herd continues roaring out still in a defensive stance.
Chasing prey for a living is a chancy business. Even carnivores like T. Rex are not always successful.
The young T. rex walks off heading to the forest.
And soon, the Triceratops herd started to relax seeing that the predator was leaving.
"Whoa, guess even T. Rex fail sometimes during hunts." Martin said.
"Yeah, even the greatest of predators fail often." Chris said. "Come on, let's follow it." He then deactivated.
"What?" Jimmy exclaimed.
"Come on, Jimmy, we should where it's going." Aviva said.
They then followed the T. Rex.
"How did I get this job?" Jimmy asked himself and follows them.
Hours later, the sun begins to set over Cretaceous South Dakota.
At dusk, the odds are even poorer.
Daylight favors the predators.
As night falls, colors fade, depth perception decreases, and familiar images begin to blur.
Later towards night, the young T. Rex wanders through the forest as the moon shines overhead.
Without a kill, this youngster flunked its first test as a solitary hunter.
Not far away, the Wild Kratts were still following the young Tyrannosaurus has it still hasn't noticed them so far. They stayed as quiet as they could and keeping downwind of it as they know Tyrannosaurus has a powerful sense of smell, and they head deeper into the forest. They also had their headlamps on but also making sure the Rex wouldn't spot them.
"I wonder where it's going." Martin whispered.
They continued following the young T. Rex.
Some distance away, a pair of adult Tyrannosaurus were at a clearing as one was laying down.
But in a pack, a family of T. Rexes is a force to be reckon with.
The T. Rex laying on the ground was a male, and standing by him was his mate.
The male stands 12 feet tall.
The female is even bigger. A veteran of the combat zone, she bears the scars of a hard life.
The female's right ankle looked crippled due from an attack of a prey animal.
Her leg's been crippled by a painful injury.
Still, she rules the roost.
Soon, the young T. Rex emerges from the brush and went up to it's parents, and turns to it's mother.
A young T. Rex still relies on its parents for support.
The Wild Kratts soon near the clearing, but immediately saw the family of Tyrannosaurus.
"Whoa, get down." Chris quickly said as they got down.
"Kill your light." Martin said.
They quickly turned their headlamps off before the T. Rex pack noticed them.
"Whoa, a whole pack of them." Chris whispered.
"Guess the theory of T. Rex raising their young is true." Martin said.
"Amazing." Aviva said.
"Let's hope they don't see us." Jimmy whispered. "I'd hate to become midnight snacks."
"Wow, that's the largest predator ever to stalk North America, right there." Chris said. "Aviva, we can't go home without a Power Suit of one."
"I don't think now is a good idea." Aviva said. "The M.I.K might give us away."
"Whoa, look at the female." Chris said. "She's huge. She must be over the average size of a Tyrannosaurus. And tough too, look at the scars."
"She could be well over 40 years old." Martin said. "A true veteran of the Cretaceous combat zone."
Suddenly, a second young T. Rex slams against the young Tyrannosaurus they were following. Revealing that they were siblings, they then started to wrestle. But as they were playing, the second youngster wasn't paying attention, and it's tail accidentally hits the mother Rex's crippled ankle.
The mother Tyrannosaurus acted up in pain as it was still healing, and the youngsters turn to her as then she roars out loudly in pain. Her roar echoes through the primeval forest as birds flew off spooked.
The 2 young T. Rex cowered down and went off.
The mother Tyrannosaurus continues roaring out loudly as Chris quickly scans her with his CreaturePod.
T. Rex's skull is huge, over 5 feet long, filled with air spaces to accommodate an elaborate network of nerves and muscles.
The scan then shows the T. Rex's skeleton.
Its brain is the size of a gorilla's.
"Wow, a T. Rex brain is half the size of ours." Chris said looking at the scan.
Its teeth are serrated for shearing meat and its jaw is design powerful enough to crush bone.
"And these jaw muscles are amazing." Aviva said reading the scan. "A bite force of 12,800 pounds."
"Making it the strongest bite of any land animal." Chris said. "And look at those teeth."
"Most predatory dinosaurs have blade-like teeth." Martin said. "Almost like knifes. But T. Rex teeth are different, their like railroad spikes compared to them."
The scan then moves over showing the short 2-fingered arms.
While its arms are too short for grasping prey, its body is massive and robust.
"Wow, those arms are short." Koki said. "They're as long as our arms."
"Yeah, but don't be fooled by them." Chris said "Those arms are surprisingly strong, able to hold 400 pounds."
"And they kinda look like meat hooks." Martin said. "Maybe T. Rex can still use them in some ways despite being so short."
The scan then moves over showing it's rib-cage.
Its ribs are an interlocking array of bones designed to help it breathe.
The scan then shows it's leg and muscles surrounding the bones.
Equipped with strong sturdy legs, T. Rex is is braced to spring to the attack.
The scan then shows the T. Rex's feet, and the mother T. Rex roars out loudly.
Then, she begins to head off as the rest of the pack followed.
Tomorrow, the youngsters will learn to hunt from the deadliest predator of them all.
"Discovery of juvenile Tyrannosaur bones led to some surprising changes in how we think about these animals." Dr. Philip Currie standing by a T. Rex skeleton. "First of all, when we look at the juveniles, it turned out that they weren't built the way we originally thought they were. They did not look like the adults. The legs were longer and more slender compared to their body size. Even now we know these animals were extremely fast. This led to some speculation concerning the behavior of the juveniles in the pack structure. If we compare those dinosaurs to modern animals, we have analogues. When you look at a pride of lions, the female lions are generally much faster than the males because they're lighter weight and very often they're used to scare up the prey and chased them back into the jaws of the male lion. Tyrannosaurs may have done something very similar because of their speed they may have moved into a herd of duck-billed dinosaurs, scared up an individual of 2, and these came back into the jaws of the adults who killed them."
The early morning rises over Cretaceous South Dakota.
South Dakota
65 Million Years Ago
Contrary to popular opinion, life in a primeval forest is filled with endless days of boredom.
Moments of terror are only fleeing.
Towards midmorning, a herd of Edmontosaurus were grazing on the ferns as the Wild Kratts who recently appeared watched them.
Anatotitans are peaceful creatures.
They'd like nothing more than to be left alone. Although they're almost as large as Tyrannosaurus Rex, they have few defenses against a hungry predator. Especially when they're old or sick.
"These Edmontosaurus are amazing." Chris said.
"Yeah, and so peaceful." Aviva said.
"But, how can they live in a place like this with so many predators?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah, they don't have much weapons." Koki said.
"Well, Edmontosaurus can use it's tail for fight a predators." Martin said. "But they're real defense is to run."
To protect themselves, Anatotitans congregate in herds and post sentries to look out for danger.
Nearby, at the edge of the forest, the young T. Rex from last night appeared and watches the herd.
Unaware they're being watched by the Tyrannosaurus less than 100 feet away, the Wild Kratts continued watching the Edmontosaurus feed as some kept a lookout for predators.
Equipped with good eyesight, acute hearing, and a keen sense of smell, they're constantly on alert.
The group watched as the Edmontosaurs feed, and they seem to notice something that sets them apart from most dinosaurs, let alone other reptiles.
"Say, do they seem to be... chewing?" Aviva said noticing an Edmontosaurus moving it's lower jaw side to side.
"Yeah, it is." Chris said. "It's something you don't see in reptiles. As well with other dinosaurs."
"Some plant-eating dinosaurs can actually chew." Martin said. "Since most dinosaurs just swallow a mouthful whole."
Hadrosaurs seem to prefer a diet of high in fiber, but unlike Sauropods, that rely on stones and chemicals in their gut to break down vegetation, Anatotitans have the most sophisticated food processor yet devised in nature.
Aviva then scan the Edmontosaurus with her CreaturePod as a holographic screen appeared, and showed it's skeleton and it's head.
The front of their muzzles are toothless and rigid for shearing plants.
The scan then shows the Edmontosaurus chewing.
When chewing, their jaws move from side to side, allowing a battery of hundreds of tightly packed teeth to grind the food to a pulp.
The scan then showed the Edmontosaur's skull, and it's teeth.
"Wow, these are amazing." Aviva said.
"Yeah, there could be 2,000 teeth in that mouth." Martin said. "Making short work of the plants, and maybe like the teeth of elephants, they slowly move forward like a conveyor belt."
Hadrosaurs are one of the most successful dinosaurs that ever lived. Scores of different species once inhabited North America, from Texas to as far away as Alaska.
"Wow, these hadrosaurs are amazing." Koki said.
"Yeah, you can find different kinds of them across the world." Chris said. "They're the most common group of dinosaurs in the Late Cretaceous. And Edmontosaurus is one of the most widespread dinosaur in North America, they actually live even as far north to Alaska."
"Okay, I gotta make a Power Suit for this." Aviva said bringing her M.I.K out. "I might make one for me as well."
As she was busy, they watched as an Edmontosaurus youngster at least 3 years old approach it's mother laying on the ground.
From birth, a baby Anatotitan clings to its mother for protection.
A behavior passed from generation to generation.
The Edmontosaurus youngster then lies down next to it's mother.
As adults, hadrosaurs cling to each other, but's not always fool proof.
Nearby, the young Tyrannosaurus continues watching the herd.
"And... done!" Aviva announced as 3 orange Edmontosaurus Power Discs emerge from the slot. "3 Edmontosaurus, er... Anatotitan... Um, Hadrosaur Powers Discs ready."
Chris and Martin took one as Aviva slipped her Power Suit and they inserted the discs.
"But wait." Chris said. "Touching an Edmontosaur. How we gonna do that?"
"You're right." Martin said. "Hadrosaurs are easily spooked from any loud sounds."
Edmontosaurus are easily startled, and will run from anything that surprises them.
"Hmm. I might have one idea." Aviva said though wasn't sure completely.
She then grabs a handful of ferns, and held them out as an Edmontosaurus near them to her. A little cautious of the 5 humans, but yet curious of never seeing humans before. And the handful of ferns in Aviva's hand did got it's full interest as it tilted it's head.
"Come on, we won't hurt you." Aviva gently said.
The Edmontosaurus then slowly approached them and sniffs them, and it soon grabs the ferns from Aviva's hand and chews realizing they weren't a threat.
"Okay, now." Chris said softly said.
They then placed on a finger on the Edmontosaurus' snout, and then press the Activation Button as then a green, blue and violet flashed occurred as the Edmontosaurus backs away. And soon, the flashes faded as Chris, Martin and Aviva were in Edmontosaurus Power Suits.
The Edmontosaurus honked as it tilted it's head at the strange colored Edmontosaurs.
"Yeah, I think it thinks we're very odd." Chris said.
"But it's still a cool Power Suit." Martin said.
Close by, the herd continues feeding.
The Anatotitans have walked into a trap.
Suddenly, one of the Edmontosaurs at the edge of the herd lifts up and scans the forest's edge.
And the Wild Kratts soon noticed as well.
"What is it, buddy?" Martin asked.
The Edmontosaurus senses something was wrong, and looked around. And then noticed the Tyrannosaurus hiding in the brush.
Chris looked back and noticed the youngster as well. "Uh-oh."
Then the Edmontosaurus herd takes off running along with Chris, Martin and Aviva.
The young T. Rex leaps like a bird-dog flushing prey.
The young Tyrannosaurus then charges out from the trees and roars as it chased after the herd. The Edmontosaurus herd flees keeping one step ahead of the youngster as he was still able to keep up with them.
"Whoa, he's fast." Aviva said.
"I know!" Chris said. "That's why many believe that young T. Rex are more lightly built than the adults."
The young T. Rex growled as he continues chasing the herd as the Edmontosaurs flee for their lives along with Chris, Martin and Aviva. And the Tyrannosaurus manages to slowly catch up and snapped it's jaws narrowly missing the tail of one of the hadrosaurs.
The Anatotitans bolt for safety, unaware a second youngster is lying in wait.
The herd continues running as they near the bushes, and then suddenly the Tyrannosaur's sibling charges out from the brush as the herd bolted in a different direction. But a lone Edmontosaurus, along with Chris, Martin and Aviva ran into a different direction away from the herd.
Koki and Jimmy trying to keep up with them saw that.
"Oh, no!" Koki yelled.
The Edmontosaur, Chris, Martin and Aviva as then suddenly the male Tyrannosaurus launches from an ambush spot narrowly missing the Edmontosaurus.
"YEOW!" Martin yelled.
The 4 quickly ran down a cleared path with the father Tyrannosaurs, and youngster right behind them in hot pursuit. And they ran through the trees as the youngster quickly gains ahead from the male.
"Jeez, these guys real scary in a pack and chasing you!" Chris said.
"You're telling me!" Aviva said.
"Wait a minute." Martin said realizing something. "We've seen this hunting technique with lions."
"If you have a group chasing you, which means..." Chris said then realizing something.
There's 1 more surprise in store.
The group continued running as then suddenly, the mother Tyrannosaurus lunges from nowhere and her enormous jaws clamp down on the neck of the Edmontosaurus as Chris, Martin and Aviva flee to a safe distance. And the helpless Edmontosaurus was wrestled off it's feet as the T. Rex shook it's neck breaking it with such violence. And the Edmontosaurus honked one last time as it limps on it's side.
Mom.
The mother Tyrannosaurus growled and steps back from the Edmontosaurus with her lips coated red with blood, and then she roars out loudly as it echoed.
Chris, Martin and Aviva soon deactivated and hid in the bushes as Koki and Jimmy caught up with them. And they watched as the pack started to gather and feed on the Edmontosaurus.
"Boy, that was more scarier than being chased by lions." Chris said.
"Yeah, I thought my heart was in my mouth." Aviva said.
"Whoa, they're eating that carcass like it's a world-class steak or ice cream sundae." Martin said watching the pack feed.
"For them it is." Chris said.
"Look how it eats." Martin said.
"That's scary." Koki said.
"You'll never look at birds the same way again." Martin said.
"Yep." Jimmy said nervously watching the frenzy.
One of the young Tyrannosaurus then rips a large chunk of flesh from the carcass, and then shakes it violently as a piece of it was sent flying towards the hiding group. But then Chris noticed something.
"Hey, look." Chris said. "He lost a tooth."
Embedded in the meat was a tooth that came loose from the thrashing.
Martin then grabs the tooth.
"Whoa, it really does look like a railroad spike." Koki said.
"Yeah, and it's serrated. "Chris said. "Those teeth are serious slicers and dicers and crushers."
Aviva then scans it with her CreaturePod.
"Wow, this is the last bit of info I need." Aviva said.
She brought her M.I.K out and adds the finishing touches to the Tyrannosaurus Power Discs.
"And... done." Aviva said.
The slot opens with 2 yellowish-tan Tyrannosaurus Power Discs.
"T. Rex Power Discs." Aviva said grabbing them.
She then tossed them to Chris and Martin, and they touched the tooth and press the Activation Button. And with a green and blue flash, they activated into Tyrannosaurus Power.
"Whoa, this is awesome!" Martin beamed.
"Wow, check out these jaws!" Chris said.
But they had no idea...
Their moment of joy, is amount to end.
In the depths of outer space, soaring pass the moon was a colossal meteorite, 6 miles wide, on a collision course that will change the world forever.
The meteorite soars closer towards Earth as the planet's gravitational pull gets stronger, and accelerates.
On Earth, the mother Tyrannosaurus lifts her head up from the carcass unaware that her life was about to change in an instant flash.
Tyrannosaurus Rex has terrorized the land for the last time.
The meteorite turns into a fireball as it enters the Earth's atmosphere at over 40,000 miles per hour.
And mass times acceleration equals force.
The pack of T. Rex continues feeding as they soon saw the meteorite soaring through the sky like a missile, and the Wild Kratts saw it.
"Whoa, is that a meteor?" Aviva said.
"Yeah, and it's huge." Martin said.
"That's not a meteor, that's a mountain." Koki said.
"It's the KT meteor that will start the Earth's 5th mass extinction." Chris said. "Ground zero is the Gulf of Mexico."
An asteroid bigger than Mt. Everest streaks across the sky, and slams into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at an angle of about 30 degrees.
From space, the asteroid flashed as it then slams into the shallow sea of the Yucatan Peninsula in Chicxulub, with the force of 100 million Atomic bombs. And the shockwave clears the clears within an area of over a thousand miles.
The impact gouges out a crater 120 miles wide, and sends an incandescent plume of vaporized rock arcing towards the northwest at speeds close to 10 miles per second.
The shockwave swiftly soars as trees were bended from the sheer force, and some broke like twigs.
In minutes, everything for hundreds of miles is incinerated.
Over 2,000 miles north from the crash site, the sky turns a fiery glow.
In South Dakota, plants and animals suffer a different kind of fate.
A herd of Triceratops flee for their lives as the asteroid's blast front soars towards them.
Some are scalded by the heat, others succumb to shockwaves generated by the collision.
With the T. Rex pack, they continued feeding without any concern as then the mother roars out watching the distance as one of the youngster turns to the distance and growled.
The pack watches the blast front heading towards them as the Wild Kratts watched it as well. And soon, the Tyrannosaurus pack turns and ran as fast as their legs could take them. And the Wild Kratts quickly hurry to the Tortuga as fireballs started raining down.
Later, a large cloud of dust started to spread out from the impact site.
An hour after impact a cloud of dust and debris settles over North America.
Temperatures drops, and acid rain begins to fall, as Nitrogen, burned by the heat, is washed out of the atmosphere.
Lightning flashed from the dark clouds as the Armageddon sets in.
The sun won't shine again for months.
Many months later, the sun begins to shine again as it reveals the barren landscape.
First light reveals the devastation.
Somewhere in the landscape, a charred corpse of a Tyrannosaurus lies where it died.
The Wild Kratts managed to escape the worse the asteroid could far by hiding in the deep ocean where it wasn't affected much as on land. They were soon able to reach land and were shocked of the destruction.
"My goodness." Aviva said.
"There's nothing left." Koki said.
"Yeah, the asteroid's impact took a huge toll." Martin said. "The initial impact alone caused wildfires, earthquakes and tsunamis. And soon a cloud of dust spread across the world blocking the sun."
"Plants were the first to die with no sunlight." Chris said. "And the herbivores soon starved."
"Predators did okay for a while, but when food for them got harder to find, they too starved." Martin said.
Dinosaurs are the animals that suffered most. If they don't die as a result of the impact and it's immediate consequences, they will die gradually in the aftermath.
"Did anything even survive all this?" Jimmy asked.
"Well, some dinosaurs did make it through the first few months after impact." Chris said. "But eventually starved. But they weren't the only ones that disappeared from the impact."
"The pterosaurs too are gone, along with the marine reptiles of the oceans." Martin added. "No animal over 50 pounds had survived."
"So, what were the survivors?" Aviva asked.
"Birds, small reptiles, fish, insects, even mammals." Chris said.
"Over 70% of life on Earth vanished from the KT Extinction." Martin said.
They looked around staring at the charred landscape that was once dominated by dinosaurs.
90% of all leaf-bearing trees and plants haven been obliterated, and 70% of the animals have vanished.
Most of the dinosaurs are now extinct.
"There are many theories that try to explain why dinosaurs suffered such a massive extinction 65 million years ago." Dr. Philip Currie said.
Dr PHILIP CURRIE
Royal Tyrell Museum, Alberta
"The evidence in the rocks here suggests that 65 million years ago something major happened." Dr. Philip said. "We have iridium, we have shocked quartz, we have micro diamonds. Along the Red Deer River of Alberta though, we have some of the best evidence anywhere for showing us what was going on in those last few years of dinosaurs rule. For example as we follow the Red Deer River upstream, we're literally going up in time. 10 million years before the dinosaurs disappeared there were 35 species of dinosaurs living in the area. 5 million years before the end there was only 20 or 25 species, and just before the great extinction event there was only about half a dozen species of dinosaurs in this-this area."
The Wild Kratts continued exploring the barren landscape of Cretaceous South Dakota as there was not one sign of a living dinosaur that made it.
Not since the great Permian Extinction gave rise to the dinosaurs, had an event been so catastrophic, and so final, but life is resilient.
But eventually, they did fins some life.
"Hey, look." Martin said. "A turtle."
Basking in the sunlight by the water, a turtle lays near them as it was one of the many survivors.
In South Dakota, a turtle angles for a perch in the sun.
They watched as the turtle crawls off.
Sometime alter as they were about to leave, a Cretaceous mammal similar a possum crawls on an old skull of a T. Rex.
A primitive mammal comes out of hiding.
"Whoa, I was hoping we might see one of these." Chris said.
"Is that a mammal?" Aviva asked.
"Yeah, the Cretaceous had lots of small mammals." Martin said. "They lived in the dinosaur's shadow for all this time, hiding underground is what helped them survive for what the asteroid could throw at them."
"Wow, these guys are amazing." Koki said.
"Yeah, and these mammals have a huge future ahead of them." Chris said. "And to think, these are our ancestors of this time."
"Also, they'll lead to the mammals we see in our time." Martin said.
Mammals have many other advantages that dinosaurs didn't. High birthrates, short lifespans, and in time, they'll rival the dinosaurs in size and ferocity. Living in every habitat, and even lay claim, to the oceans.
The only dinosaur visible, a bird soars overhead to remind us of the giants that are gone.
The Wild Kratts then saw a shadow near them, and looked up watching a bird fly overhead.
Not all the dinosaurs are extinct.
Birds are dinosaurs.
"Well, I guess this Creature Adventure is now at a close." Chris said.
"Time to home to our time." Martin said.
"I thought you never ask." Jimmy said relieved.
They then laughed as they headed to the Tortuga as the Cretaceous mammal watches them mysteriously. And soon, the Tortuga takes off, and flew off and soon vanished into a time warp.
A pack of raptors prowled through their hunting ground.
The dinosaurs are one of life's success stories.
An Edmontosaurus honks as it grazes.
A Stegosaurus bellowed. And a Dilophosaurus roars loudly. A Nothronychus browses on the branches, a young Tyrannosaurus chased after it's prey.
From Alaska to Mexico, Maine to California, they roamed North America in huge numbers for a staggering 160 million years.
A Queztalcoatlus lands on the ground near the carcass of a Triceratops.
A Ceratosaurus chased after 2 Dryosaurus as then an Allosaurus lunges from nowhere biting down on it's neck as it was wrestled to the ground. A Coelophysis snatches a locust, 2 Dryosaurus looked around and then flee as a Camarasaurus walks by, and it's enormous right front foot stomps on the ground.
In their day, they were the largest, brainiest, and most sophisticated creatures on Earth.
A Coelophysis watches for a moment, and then lunges forward.
A herd of Apatosaurus marches across the landscape as the sun sets.
It's unlikely anything so huge or captivating will ever pass this way again.
In the final days of the Cretaceous, in South Dakota, the primitive mammal sniffs around on the old T. Rex skull.
But for a tiny mammal called Purgatorius, the future belongs to them.
Another Purgatorious pokes it's head from a hole in the skull's lower jaw. As they had little idea of the future for them.
Someday, their children will walk on the moon, and think back in awe...
...to a time...
...when dinosaurs roamed Wild America.
Happy 20th anniversary
of
When Dinosaurs Roamed America
Author's Note:
For Wild Kratts fans, I've seen the new episode, Cats and Dogs, and it was great.
Showing African Wild Dogs for the first time, as well as African Wildcats, Black-backed Jackals, Bush Dogs, Sand Cats, Fennec Foxes, Raccoon Dogs. And finally showing an African Leopard.
And what a surprise of it showing an Egyptian Cobra. But I think they could have made the hood a little smaller that, since their hood spread isn't as big as their Indian cousin.
And unexpected for Sabryn Rock to replace Heather Bambrick as Koki. After seeing a sneak peak few days before it came out, I thought Koki sounded slightly different.
And Megafang is an interesting name since Clouded Leopards have the largest canines of any cat in body size. Alive today though, since Smilodon have longer fangs that are like saber blades at 8 inches long.
And quite a surprise with the Catdog reference when Chris and Martin's Power Suit fused into 1.
And quite a long 9 month wait since the last episode due to Covid unfortunately.