The female Dinofelis advanced towards the habilis alpha, snarling. As she got closer, she swiped the air with her paw, letting out a low snarl. The alpha habilis took a few steps back and cowered; he wasn't strong enough to fight the big cat, but the carcass in the dry season was worth too much to just be abandoned. The big cat advanced closer, tensing her body in readiness to pounce….

Suddenly, both the alpha habilis and the Dinofelis paused to listen to a loud, honking sound. They turned to see Alice, holding the horn high and honking it, running towards the Dinofelis. The Dinofelis ignored the alpha habilis and advanced towards this strange new creature. Alice muttered, "That's right, kitty; keep following the sound."

Alice smiled as she saw the Dinofelis leave the alpha habilis; the big cat had been distracted. However… it was now advancing towards her. Even desperate from hunger, it could easily outrun her and she didn't have anything to defend herself with. Damn. Perhaps this hadn't been such a good idea after all. The snarling big cat advanced towards her; the watching alpha habilis cowered, as if in terror of what was going to happen next…

Suddenly, a stone came flying out of the air and landed on the Dinofelis' head. The big cat snarled indignantly and turned to the rocks to see the young male habilis come running down, hooting angrily. The Dinofelis shook her head and turned her attention to Alice, who had used the distraction to lift the portal remote. As the big cat pounced forward, Alice dived out of the way, activating the portal as she did so. Unable to change her trajectory, the Dinofelis leapt through the portal, into the present.

Adrian and Cynthia ran from their hiding spots towards their teammate. Adrian looked at her, flabbergasted, "You could have killed yourself doing that!" Alice shrugged, "Hey, no pain, no gain, right?" On the opposite side. young male habilis came running down the hill, towards his alpha. He looked at Adrian, Cynthia and Alice, with a pointed expression on his face. They knew what this meant; they saved his life. Now, he had returned the favour. The three humans looked at each other – maybe this was the first sparks of gratitude.

After the incident, the whole habilis troop had come down the hill, curious at what had just transpired. The alpha male habilis gave the humans a strange look; they had saved him, but he was still on guard. The three humans looked at each other, and Cynthia whispered, "You want to get this lot through the portal and go home?", to which Adrian and Alice nodded.

The three humans walked towards the portal, with the young male habilis following them intently. Eventually, the alpha and the rest of the troop moved towards the portal, moving as if a single entity. Once the last one had gone through, Adrian, Alice and Cynthia went through in turn, closing the portal as they left.

The first thing they heard when they left the portal were the shouts of their colleagues; however, these weren't shouts of joy, but rather fear. Everyone was panicking. Confused, the team looked at each other. Cynthia walked up to Will and asked, "What's going on?" Will turned to him and practically screamed, "Something big's just happened! The male Dinofelis Drew's team brought back has escaped!" The calmer Nikolai took over the conversation, "The electronic door lock in one of the vet pens failed and the male Dinofelis escaped. The vet offices were put on automatic lockdown." Drew interjected, "The only person in there was Yolanda. We're trying to undo the lockdown so security can get in, but it's proving a bit difficult." Adrian gave Drew a puzzled look, "You said Yolanda was the only person in there. Where's Leon?" Drew looked purposefully at Adrian, "Leon ran off as soon as he found the news. Grabbed a tranq gun and ran in before the lockdown happened. He and Yolanda are in there with that thing." Adrian, Alice and Cynthia looked at each other in horror.

Meanwhile, in the vet offices, Yolanda Hall was checking on Sharptooth. He was only in here for a checkup; at his age, he needed a lot of medical attention. Soon, he would be returned to his paddock… Suddenly, an alarm echoed through the vet offices and she heard doors automatically closing. That meant a lockdown… but lockdowns only happened when an animal had…

Suddenly, she heard a low, purring growl, like that of a big cat from behind her. Turning round, she saw the male Dinofelis Drew's team had brought back, slowly loping towards her. She automatically backed against the wall; it had cornered her. She looked around for anything she could use against it or any possible escape options, as the big cat continued his remorseless advance.

In the vet-pen nearby, Sharptooth was peacefully slumbering. Suddenly, he heard a low growl. Awakening, he lifted his head to see a strange, furry creature heading towards that human who had been treating him. He exhaled; another goddamn mess that he had to get her out of. Hauling himself to his feet and shaking his head irritably, he stalked towards the source of the sound.

The Dinofelis moved closer to Yolanda, who backed up against the walls of the vet pen. The big cat had cut off all possible escape options and she had nothing she could use against it. Her fate was dependent on someone turning up with a tranq gun; but that became less and less likely as the big cat came closer. Suddenly, the Dinofelis went rigid and took a few steps back in terror.

Yolanda turned to see Sharptooth looming behind her. The Dinofelis looked, almost sheepish, at the presence of the larger predator. Sharptooth let out a loud, bellowing roar that almost deafened Yolanda and caused the Dinofelis to freeze with terror. That was all the invitation the big cat needed and he turned tail and ran.

However, as he turned to retreat, the Dinofelis' movements slowed and his breathing became more laboured. After a few steps, he collapsed. Yolanda and Sharptooth both looked at each other, confused; what on Earth had happened?

They soon found out what when Leon, panting, ran down the hall and walked up to Yolanda. Breathing heavily, he almost blurted out his next words, "Yolanda, I've loved you for quite a while. I was worried that this was my last opportunity, so I wanted to confess…". He was interrupted when Yolanda suddenly grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. Pulling apart, she smiled, "Yeah, I've loved you too."

Sharptooth rolled his eyes – it was about time this had happened. The male's failed attempts at initiating courtship were becoming almost irritating. Now, this strange mammal was an unconventional nuptial gift, but it seemed to be effective. Realising he had no need to be there, he loped back into his sleeping spot and lay down.

After that, all the Pliocene creatures were being transported to their new homes. The Deinotherium and Ancylotherium had been given a large paddock in the Mammal Trail. It was decided that they could share a paddock, since they were both herbivores and unlikely to harm each other. They were all either feeding or resting in the sun. The bull had been kept separately until his musth had ended. The Dinofelis pair, who had been given a large paddock nearby, were all napping in the sun, waiting for their next meal.

Meanwhile, the four different species of ape-men had been moved to large paddocks in Family Tree. The Australopithecus were either clambering in the trees or exploring the ground portion of their enclosure. The young male, who had been named Blue, had drastically gained weight and confidence since arriving. The bosei troop were sitting in their large enclosure nearby, calmly feeding on a mixed menu of acacia pods and fruit.

And the habilis and rudolfensis had been given large enclosures adjacent to each other. The young male habilis' standing in the troop had significantly increased after throwing the stone at the Dinofelis; he was being groomed by a lower-ranking male. Meanwhile, the alpha habilis and the alpha rudolfensis had not forgotten their grudges and were still engaged in posturing against each other.

Everything was back to normal… seemingly.

Next time on Prehistoric Earth

The crew go back to Pliocene South America

(Alice approaches a tusked whale)

To bring back the deadliest shark ever

(Two giant sharks surround Drew in the shark cage.

Meanwhile, back at the park, truths are revealed… and they change everything.

All next time on Prehistoric Earth: Beyond the Sea!

Meanwhile…

In the vet offices, Alice and Will were looking over Raksha as she slept deeply in her nursery pen. Alice ran her finger affectionately down the little pup's back and said, "Aww, look, she's all tuckered out." Will smiled, "Well, she's had a long day." Alice looked at him and said, "I think we all have." Bending down to the little bear-dog pup, Alice whispered, "Sweet dreams.", before turning to leave with Will.

Leaving the vet station, Alice and Will walked down the hall when, suddenly, Alice's walkie-talkie hissed into life. Picking it up, she said, "Who's there?" Cynthia's voice replied, "I need you and Will to come to the park bar now. I have something I want to tell you. However, you both have to agree to tell nobody else without my permission. Is that clear?" Alice and Will looked at each other, before Alice spoke into the communicator, "Clear."

To be continued…

Rescue tally:

Australopithecus afarensis; 8 (3 males, 5 females)

Dinofelis barlowi: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

Deinotherium bozasi: 10 (2 males, 8 females)

Ancylotherium pentelicum: 7 (2 males, 5 females)

Homo habilis: 20 (9 males, 11 females)

Paranthropus boisei: 10 (2 males, 8 females)

Homo rudolfensis: 9 (3 males, 6 females)