Part V: Rodan
My name is Wes Atkins and I have the honor of touring the surreal world of Monster Island. This place is the home to my favorite group of animals simply known as…Kaiju! My job here is to use my expertise to show that they are not monsters but fellow inhabitants of Earth that deserve to be here just as much as we do. My hopes are that if we are able to better understand Kaiju then we can learn to respect them as well. So let us take off on another adventure into the Wild World of Kaiju.
The camera shot opens on a Wes precariously sitting on an opened side of a moving aircraft.
"Welcome back folks," Wes says, speaking through his headset. "Today we are taking to the skies to observe one of the most well known Kaiju, Rodan! Now Rodan is among the fastest of all the Kaiju so it has been very difficult to film him. This is actually our fifth attempt doing so, but we are sure we'll be getting some good footage this time. We are on our way to Rodan's nest which is near the peak of Monster Island's Adonoa Mountain. There we'll find the offspring of our Pterosaur-like Kaiju, who is just about ready to take his first flight."
The camera looks off to show the sprawling mountainous region. The area contained several mountain ranges that varied in size. All of it was covered in an expansive, lush greenery that engulfed most of the island. Adonoa Mountain protruded out from the center of the island and dwarfed the rock formations that surrounded it. The aircraft then started gaining altitude and circling the mountain in search of the nest. Within a few minutes the crew easily found the nest, on the mountains side, which was a huge ledge that housed a large natural cavern.
"Now this is the nesting ground of our resident avian Kaiju but lucky for us he won't be home for a while. Normally Rodan would be bringing back food for his young but when the chick gets to a certain age, the parent will stop doing this. The parent Rodan will also not return to the nest for a certain period of time. This will force the juvenile Rodan to leave the nest, due to hunger, and seek out food for themselves. But in order to do that, they will need to take their first flight. This behavior may be cruel but it is merely a natural part of a Rodan's life cycle. To make sure we don't spook the juvenile, we'll be staying quite a bit away so we're going to rely on Shawn's expert camera skills."
The cameraman gives a thumbs up in response and puts it in view of the device before allowing Wes to continue.
"We also have the Defense Force's best pilots flying us around today so we are in very capable hands." Wes enthusiastically says to the camera.
A shrill shriek emanates from the cavern opening and instantly catches the attention of the camera and Wes. The shriek is heard again and marks the arrival of the young Rodan. It emerges from the cavern opening and slowly steps onto the leveled area of the nest. The creature splays out its massive wings and gives another shriek that sounded lower in tone.
The young Kaiju is a mostly bright red color except for it's chest, legs, and claws that were tannish yellow, and its beak which was dark grey color. Atop its head were two spikes that protruded out towards the back of its head. Its mouth was an incredibly smooth beak that ended in a very pronounced tip. The creature's neck was somewhat long and its arms, and legs, ended in three digits that were tipped with equally sharp talons. Its wings extended from the Kaiju's arms and were connected to its upper legs by a smooth looking membrane. The wings themselves were a distinct triangular shape and made up most of the Kaiju's body. The creature also had layered plates of smooth, yet spiky, armor that covered the front part of its chest and legs. The armor around the creature's upper legs diverged into two parallel rows of layered plates that ended in two protruding spikes at the creature's knees.
"He sure is a spectacular specimen isn't he? He's only a year old but he is a whopping 30 meters tall (98 feet) and is going to keep growing until he reaches his adult height of about 60 meters (196 feet). At his current height it will be a bit challenging for this youngster to take to the skies but I believe he can do it." Wes says with a very confident tone.
The juvenile observes his surroundings and hesitantly looks over the nest's steep drop off, letting out yet another shriek. The creature then starts to continue looking around the vastly open area around the nest.
"It seems he's very reluctant to leave the nest and understandably so. The nest is 627 meters (2058 feet) above sea level and could be a very fatal drop even for a Kaiju. It's either that or eventually starving to death. He's unfortunately on his own and must rely on the millions of years of built in instinct to guide him. C'mon you can do it little guy!" Wes encouragingly shouts to the young Kaiju.
The adolescent Kaiju cries out another shrieking roar before beginning to furiously flap his wings, kicking up large amounts of dust and debris to the area. The juvenile suddenly stops flapping and spreads his wings to their maximum length. The creature leans its body forward and without warning, falls off the nest into the space below. The young Rodan is quickly falling while still keeping its body straightened and wings extended. With every passing second the juvenile gets closer and closer to the ground below. Just as the Kaiju was going to make contact with the Earth, the creature tilted its body up and began flying parallel to the ground, shredding the jungle below with a trail of intense wind.
"Yes!" Wes excitedly cheers for the juvenile as the camera focuses on him. "That was surprisingly the scariest moment out of all our adventures so far." he says in a relieved tone while gripping his chest.
The camera shifts its view back on the Kaiju gaining altitude by flapping his massive wings. The creature then starts banking slightly to the left and begins spiraling through the air before returning to a horizontal flying position.
As the camera focuses on the juvenile, Wes can be heard chuckling through his headset.
"Our boy is a natural," Wes cheerfully says. "When he grows older he'll be able to achieve speeds of up to mach 3 (2300 miles per hour) and will become the swiftest flyer in the animal kingdom. But for now, he's just enjoying the skies of this new world of his."
The Defense Force aircraft manages to match the juvenile's speed and begins following the creature as it starts to gradually descend down towards the ocean.
"So something I neglected to mention in our past adventure with Titanosaurus is how the Defense Force is able to contain the Kaiju that aren't on the Island itself." Wes explains as the camera maintains a shot on the young Rodan. "In the waters around Monster Island are these devices that look like buoys, and there are hundreds of them out here. These devices create supersonic frequencies that are very unpleasant, but not harmful, to Kaiju. It's kind of like how we don't like the sound of nails on a chalkboard. So what these devices are doing is creating an incredibly large barrier of supersonic frequencies around Monster Island and the area around it. This allows the Defense Force to safely contain all the Kaiju while still giving them their space to keep them happy. As you see with our young friend here, flying Kaiju can freely soar the skies of Monster Island."
The aircraft continues to follow the Kaiju while still maintaining a safe distance away. Meanwhile, the creature is currently fixated on the water below as it casually flies overhead.
"He seems to be completely unaware of our presence but that's probably because there's one thing on his mind right now and that's finding food. Luckily for him, prey is very abundant here and he seems to have found some." Wes says pointing down to the ocean.
Just below the water's surface are several shadowy bodies moving quickly through the ocean. The creatures appear to be porpoises with how swift and agile they are swimming. But as the camera zooms in, the creatures are identified as a group of sharks. The group disperses and simultaneously converges on a large school of nearby fish. The individual sharks then start to herd the fish as they attempt to get away from their pursuers.
"These are Tuna Sharks, another new species that resides near Monster Island. They are actually related to Great White Sharks but closely resemble the Alaskan Salmon Shark. The main differences are that Tuna Sharks live in warmer tropical waters and as their name suggests, they eat mostly tuna." Wes says with a slight chuckle before continuing. "They are also the fastest living sharks being able to swim at 47 knots (55 miles an hour), that's 9 knots faster than the Mako Shark. And at 10 meters (33 feet) long they can easily rip apart a bluefin tuna. Paired with their ability to hunt in packs and you have an extremely effective apex predator that specializes in hunting tuna . But on Monster Island they are prey for much bigger creatures."
The juvenile Rodan follows the group of fish while maintaining a steady speed as it flies above. The Tuna Sharks have successfully herded the fish into a condensed cluster, circling around the school. The sharks then begin attacking the edges of the school, grabbing any tuna unlucky enough to get caught in their jaws. Meanwhile the sharks are unknowingly being hunted themselves.
"Although our young friend may seem a bit skittish, he is actually just waiting for the right moment to strike. Tuna Sharks are indeed quite fast but the Rodan species have some of the keenest eyesight of the animal kingdom. Their brain has evolved to process images much faster than humans can. This allows Rodan to see while flying at supersonic speeds as well as having impeccable reaction time. They can also see up to a kilometer away which is very handy in searching for prey. If that wasn't cool enough, it has recently been discovered that a Rodan's eyes can even see ultraviolet light, or UV light for short. But spotting your prey is only part of the hunt. You have to be able to catch it as well."
As the Tuna Sharks were continuing to snatch up more Bluefins, the adolescent Rodan springs into action. The pterosaur quickly descends by diving down towards the ocean in a streamline shape. It only takes a few seconds for the creature to get to the water and immediately dips its talons into the surface. The young Kaiju's talons unfortunately come back up empty and the creature is forced to fly back up to the sky. The sudden attack starles all the fish, scattering both sharks and bluefins in different directions.
"Drats!" Wes exclaims. "I was really rooting for our young friend. He is still new at this and it will take him awhile to perfect his hunting abilities. But it looks like he isn't giving up just yet."
The juvenile continues to fly over the same area as before and the camera zooms down onto a lone Tuna Shark just below the surface.
"Second chances are very rare on a hunt, so he has to make this one count. He's being careful not to cast his shadow or else that might spook the shark and allow it to get away. He has to try to catch it quickly but precisely." Wes emphasizes.
The young Rodan quickly dives towards its unsuspecting prey. The attack again only lasts a few seconds as the juvenile reaches into the water with its talons. The adolescent Kaiju ascends out of the water, successfully with the shark firmly gripped in between both of its talons.
"Good on you lad!" Wes cheers as he makes a fist with his right hand.
The aircraft follows the triumphant hunter as he makes his way to a nearby beach on the Island. The juvenile drops his lifeless prey onto the sandy beach below and lands directly on top of it. He wastes no time and bends over to begin digging into the shark with his beak. After taking a few bites, the juvenile stops eating as something catches the young Kaiju's attention.
"What the heck is that?!" A voice yells out from behind the camera.
The camera shot focuses on a giant orange octopus crawling out of the water and onto the shore. The juvenile shrieks at the creature as it sluggishly makes its way up the beachfront.
"For Shawn, and all you folks at home, this is Oodaku and she is a Kaiju sized Giant Octopus. She is 20 meters (66 feet) tall and 35 meters (115 feet) long from tentacle to tentacle. It is unknown if she is a regular Giant Octopus that has grown to gigantic proportions or a completely new species of Octopus altogether. It does appear that Oodaku is trying to get an easy meal by stealing the one our young friend just caught, but I don't think that he'll be very willing to give it up."
The juvenile Rodan shrieks out again at the giant octopus while splaying out his wings at their maximum length. Oodaku ignores the creature and continues to get closer to the Kaiju.
"What the juvenile is doing is trying to intimidate Oodaku by making himself appear larger using his wings however it doesn't appear to be working."
The young Kaiju then starts violently flapping both wings towards Oodaku, assaulting the giant octopus with strong gusts of wind infused with sand and dust. Oodaku responds by sticking to the ground with its hundreds of suction cups and endures through the artificial sand storm. The juvenile stops flapping and starts showing signs of exhaustion as it lowers its wings, appearing to be breathing harder than before. Oodaku loosens up its body from the ground and proceeds to close the gap between the two.
The juvenile was trying to regain its strength as hunger and fatigue was starting to take its toll. Before the young Rodan could continue, Oodaku made its way to the juvenile and began assaulting the Kaiju with its many tentacles. The juvenile was caught off guard and couldn't properly react to the oncoming attack. Oodaku manages to overpower the pterosaur with its many tentacles as the juvenile collapses on the ground with Oodaku on top of it. The young Rodan cries out as the giant octopus begins enveloping it with its many tentacles.
"Pilots, contact the control room and tell them to activate countermeasures now!" Wes says yelling into his headset.
Before the pilots could relay the order, a giant shadow is briefly cast over the area. Wes looks up to try and find the source of it but without warning, a gigantic creature swiftly flies past the aircraft, almost knocking Wes out of the open door. It quickly makes its way to the juvenile and pries Oodaku off the young Kaiju with two giant sets of talons. The creature then throws the octopus onto the beach and lands in between the downed cephalopod and the juvenile.
The creature is all too familiar looking, with large wings, an armor plated front side, a sharp beak, and covered in a bright red color. The adult Rodan spreads out its wings to their full length and lets out an ear piercing screech that makes Wes wince in pain.
"Ladies and Gentlemen feast your eyes on the original Rodan. This is absolutely spectacular!" Wes screams in excitement. "This is the clearest look we've been able to get of him and he is just as magnificent as I expected. He appears to be 60 meters (197 feet) tall but his wings make him to be about 120 meters (390 feet) long. Very very impressive if I must say."
Oodaku widens up the siphon next to its head and squirts a volley of ink towards Rodan. The giant pterosaur immediately blocks the attack by shielding itself with its wings. Rodan then spreads both of its wings out and pulls both of its arms back.
"Brace yourselves!" Wes yells out as he ducks and covers on the floor of the aircraft.
With one mighty flap of its wings, Rodan creates a hurricane force wind that launches the giant octopus and easily knocks around the aircraft, causing it to briefly spin out of control. Oodaku lands onto the water, dozens of meters away from the beach, and retreats back to the ocean from where it came.
The camera shows Wes recovering from his curled up position as the aircraft levels out again.
"Are you alright Shawn?" Wes asks the man behind the camera.
He gives a thumbs up, putting it in frame of the shot again before going back behind the camera. The shot then zooms in on the pair of Rodans as the adult coddles the juvenile, gently preening the face of the younger Rodan. The two then begin to communicate with an exchange of shrieks in a lower monotone than before. The juvenile gets off the ground with a mighty flap of its wings and picks up the carcass of the Tuna Shark with its talons. The adult Rodan follows close behind the juvenile as the two start flying back to Adonoa Mountain.
"It seems that the Dad was keeping his eye on the young one this whole time. It's actually very touching. This is behavior that hasn't been observed before and I can't wait to share this with my fellow scientists. As for the juvenile, he still has a lot to learn and luckily he has a great parent to guide him. Who knows what else we'll learn about Rodan as we see the young one grow into an adult? But in the meantime, I say that we conclude this expedition...for now. I forgot to say that there are other species of Rodan here on Monster Island." Wes says giving a wink to the camera.
"I want to thank you all again for joining me on this riveting adventure and hope that you'll come back next time when we return to the Wild World of Kaiju.