I, KingdomHeartsNerd, own nothing; Prehistoric Park, and all related materials, belong to Impossible Pictures; the only thing I own are the OC workers and the names that I have given to unnamed people in the show.
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 is going back four million years to rescue one of the most carnivorous sharks ever.
Welcome to the ultimate wild life sanctuary. Welcome to Prehistoric Park.
Nigel's plan of creating a park full of extinct animals is coming true. There are now 85 animals in Prehistoric Park, but Nigel's not done yet. He intends to travel back four million years to the Pliocene to rescue one of the most carnivorous sharks ever.
"You must be joking, Nigel."
"I'm afraid not, Bob." Replied Nigel "That's my target."
"But... that? Why not something smaller?" Bob asked, glancing down at the piece of paper that Nigel had handed him; it had the image of the creature Nigel intended to rescue on it.
"Bob," Nigel began, as if Bob was silly "This is me. Small isn't my thing. Besides, you won't have to worry about it breeding; only one is my target - I don't think that even I could handle two of them. If I could, I would, but trust me, I can't."
"Very well," Bob sighed "But try not to make it too big, ok?"
"I'll try, Bob." Nigel replied as he lifted the small underwater carrier into the boat he was using. He turned to Bob and said "This is incase I find anything extra; if it can fit in here, then I am getting it."
Bob chuckled and waved Nigel goodbye; Nigel walked through the Portal and the boat was brought through too.
Nigel has gone back in time four million years to a time when the oceans were very dangerous; the Ordivician was nothing compared to this. Let's hope Nigel hasn't bitten off more than he can chew.
"We're in Peru." Nigel informed the camera as he walked along the shoreline "Right on the rim of the Pacific Ocean. And living out there," He gestured towards the sea "There's something terrifying. So, if you're afraid of sharks, you'll be a gibbering wreck when you see what we're going to try to bring back to Prehistoric Park next."
He reached a clay model of a large mouth full of very pointy teeth that had been put on the floor beforehand so that he could use it to show the camera; he picked it up and said "Look, the most famous jaws in history. A great white sharks." He put the model down and continued "I've swam with those in the open ocean. But they're minows in comparison to the Prehistoric shark I'm hoping to bring back to Prehistoric Park." He reached a giant mouth which was six times bigger than the one belonging to the Great White Shark. He stepped through it and continued "Megalodon - the biggest carnivorous fish that's ever lived."
He began to rub one of the teeth as he said "That name, Megalodon, what it means - it means 'Big Tooth' - and I don't think I need to explain why." Nigel walked further along the shore to the place where the boat, the Ancient Mariner, had been set up and climbed aboard.
By hunting the Megalodon, Nigel was getting into ever more dangerous waters, and caution had started to creep in amongst the crew. There was disagreement about the next course of action.
"I think we should head straight out into the deep waters." Began Nigel, gesturing a hand in that direction "The weather may change - let's look for the adults."
"I think we should start with the juveniles." Protested the Captain of the Ancient Mariner.
"We haven't got enough time to do that," Nigel replied.
"I think we should go for the smaller ones." Interrupted Ben so that the argument between Nigel and the Captain didn't get any worse.
Nigel and the crew couldn't be sure how Medalodon behaved, some argued that it would be better studying smaller, safer juveniles, before risking a dive with an adult. In the end, Nigel had to agree.
"I'll do one dive with the juveniles," Conceded Nigel "Then I think we ought to head out into the drop off and try to find the adults."
With sharks, it's all about diving in the right place. Like young Great Whites, juvenile Megalodon tended to be in shallow water, away from the adults - partly for their own safety, but also, they did prey on very different things. There shouldn't be any adults on this dive, so Nigel should be safe - well, as safe as swimming with a juvenile Megalodon can be, that is.
Nigel dove beneath the water, the underwater carrier in his hand; if there was anything small enough to fit in the three metre long, three metre wide carrier, then he was going to take it back to the park.
"I'm hugging the kelp here." He said as he swam alongside the kelp "I don't want to be caught out in open water; big predators, they don't like going into dense weed like this. The other thing is I'm hoping to find the creatures that juvenile Megalodon prey on, and they are the oddest of creatures."
Eventually, Nigel spotted what he was looking for.
"There!" He cried "Odobenocetops leptodon. That name is a mix of Greek and Latin and it means 'The Whale That Walks On It's Teeth.' And if it turns towards us, you can see why. One tusk is about a foot long, but on the other side - the right hand side - look at that, it's about three feet long and the males probably used those for jousting with each other in the breeding season, just like Narwhals."
Odobenocetops leptodon had tusks projecting towards the rear of its body. It measured about 2.1 metres and weighed between 150 and 650kg - though this one, fortunately, was at the lighter end of the scale. It had a very flexible head, being able to turn its head over 90 degrees. This, coupled with its broad snout, similar to that of a walrus, made it perfect for searching for mollusks and sucking them out of their shells with its powerful tongue.
Nigel watched the creature for a bit, heard the noises it made as it sucked up a mollusk and said "Those slurping sounds, they are superb! Flipping heck, look!"
A juvenile Megalodon appeared out of nowhere and went after the Odobenocetops leptodon, which swam into the dense kelp to escape. Nigel did the same, saying "I can't take my eyes off that. The biggest Great White Shark ever was just over twenty feet long, that thing, it must be just three years old and thats that size already!"
Now, Nigel had to imagine diving with a full grown Megalodon - twenty times the weight of that one. What had he let himself in for? Diving with a full grown Megalodon, however, would have to wait, for the Odobenocetops leptodon had now taken Nigel's attention.
It was gently floating above the bottom of the sea bed, where it was slurping up mollusks; Nigel opened the front of the carrier, swam down and slipped the carrier around the Odobenocetops leptodon before closing the door, trapping the Odobenocetops leptodon and the water inside. He released it and it bobbed to the surface where Ben lifted it aboard the Ancient Mariner.
Nigel had seen a juvenile Megalodon, but hadn't yet learned much about them. He specifically wanted to see how they hunted. He couldn't just wait around for an attack to happen, he needed to make it happen.
Swimming back to the surface, Nigel climbed aboard the Ancient Mariner where the Captain and crew had finished making a model version of the Odobenocetops leptodon to lure the juvenile Megalodon into attacking.
"This Odobenocetops leptodon, it wouldn't fool you or me, but hopefully, as a decoy, it will fool the juvenile Megalodons." Nigel said to the camera; he turned to the model Odobenocetops leptodon and continued "If they're anything like Great Whites, when they see this in silhouette at the surface they should come up to investigate and it will enable us to learn a bit more about them. As well as this, I have a Time Portal attached to it, so when the juvenile bites down on it, the Time Portal will activate and the Megalodon will be sent back to Prehistoric Park."
After fifteen minutes of the model circling in the water, the onboard camera got the shock of it's life. A juvenile Megalodon smashed into the model and the camera went black. The Time Portal flickered into life; there was a splash, water moved and the portal closed. Only half the model returned to the Ancient Mariner, the other half had been taken by the Megalodon, which had gone through the Portal back to Prehistoric Park.
"Look at what's happened to the decoy," Nigel began, before asking "Did it hit it from below?" to Jim.
"Straight up from underneath," Jim replied.
Nigel heled the model up to the camera "You can see the damage that was done here. It seems that Megalodon has one of the same hunting techhniques as Great White Sharks. What they do - they can't afford to be injured by their prey - they sneak up from below, make a devastating attack, and the power of that big fish, well look what it's done to this decoy. This is obviously weaker than real animal, real sinue and muscle, so that's why it's smashed it in two. But if this was a real animal, it would, of course, bleed to death then the shark would come in when it was really weak and then make the final coup de grâce."
"Now, we need to get back to Prehistoric Park." Nigel began, looking to the camera "I need to see if Bob has found somewhere for the juvenile Megalodon, and I need to get this Odobenocetops leptodon back to Prehistoric Park."
Megalodon are probably relatives of Great Whites and Nigel now knew that juveniles attacked their prey in a very similar way. But what about the adults, how did they hunt and what does a Shark over fifty feet long prey on? That would have to wait, as Nigel had to get the Odobenocetops leptodon back to Prehistoric Park, and check on the Megalodon that he had mannaged to bring back.
"Where does Nigel expect me to put that?" Bob asked Suzanne as the Megalodon thrashed around in the holding tank below them; they were both stood on the balcony in the middle of the holding tanks.
"In a tank, Bob." Nigel replied as he arrived at Bob's side.
"How am I going to move it?"
"It's a her." Nigel replied as he watched the Megalodon in the tank "And maybe this will make things easier." Nigel held out the Odobenocetops leptodon "Put this in a tank - but not with the Megalodon as they prey on Odobenocetops leptodon in their time period."
"Something small and not dangerous?" Questioned Bob "I'll get right on it. I'll get Jim to move her into a tank." He gestured to the Megalodon.
With the Odobenocetops leptodon now settled, Nigel is checking on the other animals in the park, which is in the middle of breeding season.
"How is she, Suzanne?"
Nigel and Suzanne were stood outside the Saber Tooth Exhibit. Sabrina, the female Saber Tooth, was lying on her back; all four of her feet were in the air and she was playing with a ball of string. Her stomach was round and swollen.
"I looks like she is pregnant," Suzanne replied "I'll give her an ultrasound later... if I can get to her that is. Harvey has become rather possessive of her; no-one can get near her."
"Have the Titanosaur eggs hatched yet?" Nigel enquired.
"No," Suzanne replied, shaking her head "But the Sea Scorpion eggs were pushed back into the water by Bob's automated water sprayer. They've hatched and are now swimming around."
"Good." Nigel replied "Hopefully the Titanosaur eggs hatch soon. Any news on the Ornithomimus?"
"The female is pregnant again." Suzanne replied "The park's been hit hard by breeding season this year, Nigel."
"That's good." Nigel replied, watching Sabrina play with the ball of string; throwing it high into the air she swatted it between two paws as it came back down "And the others? How are they? Are they alright?"
"They're fine." Suzanne assured him "Theo's charging at the tree again, but Bob's going to get the Trico-Tractor out in a few days and give Theo something to ram into."
"And Terence and Matilda?" Enquired Nigel "How are they?"
"For once, they're not killing each other. Terence keeps well away from Matilda now. He hangs around the edge of the exhibit, or up the hill, so that she cannot reach him. As for Matilda, well, she just keeps roaring and walking around waiting for meat."
"Well, keep and eye on them." Nigel requested "I have to get back to the Pliocene."
With Prehistoric Park all under control - except for one very large Megalodon, which Nigel has left for Bob - Nigel heads back to Peru in the Pliocene Era to discover how adult Megalodon's hunted. Leaving the juveniles behind, Nigel and the crew took the boat a few miles offshore. It was time to meet a monster.
"Anyone who's tried to get close to Sharks knows this eye watering stench. It's the smell of chum - that's a mix of fish blood, fish oil, bits of fish pieces - what we're gonna do is throw that over the side. There'll be a trail of odor, which will go for miles in the current and Megalodon will smell that and start zigzagging towards the boat. When it gets close, we've also got this amazing delicacy for it - a great big bag of fish chunks - and that should entice it and keep it around the boat." He gestured to the large bag of fish chunks and then the sea.
"And if they do come, what we've got here," He picked up a camera attched to a floatation device "Is Shark Cam. There's a little camera inside this. We wanna get an insight into the world of the Megalodon. I've got to get close enough to attach it to the base of the massive dorsal fin of the Megalodon. It won't hurt the shark, this will disolve in a couple of days." He ran a metallic peg between his fingers "The camera will pop up to the surface and then we'll find it and hopefully get some insight into the behaviour of the wild Megalodon. As well as this, when it falls off, it will activate a Time Portal attched to the front and will send the adult back to Prehistoric Park too; though, if I get in danger putting the Shark Cam onto the Megalodon the portal will activate in front of me and send the Megalodon through so that I am not harmed." Nigel put down the Shark Cam down and walked off to do other things to make the process go quicker. The other camera filmed the Shark Cam for a few seconds and then went black.
The chum was thrown overboard; it splashed into the water and red blood began floating everywhere and about an hour later, the first signs of it working began to appear on the horizon.
"To the left, over there!" Cried one of the crew members.
The massive fin of a fully grown adult Megalodon could be seen moving slowly across the water.
"Look at that thing!" Cried Nigel to the camera "It can't be anything else but an adult Megalodon. It's more like a sail than a fin, and what we've gotta do now is get the cage into the water."
The circular cage was lowered into the water, as was the bag of fish chunks.
"You can see the blood and the fish oil leaking out of the chum bag." Nigel began, as he swam into the cage "I need to be really prepared for this with the camera." He had the Shark Cam attached to the top of a pole, which was in his hand "We may only get one chance at it. Who knows how long the Megalodon's going to hang around."
The chum bag turned upside down and more fish oil began to ooze from the bag.
"This is scary. I'm scared." Nigel admitted; then, a large Megalodon appeared and Nigel continued "No, It's going straight for the cage. Oh, my word."
The Megalodon swam past the cage, and, slowly but surely, reached the chum bag, which was hoisted away. Once the Megalodon had swam under the boat, the chum bag was dropped back into the water.
"Nothing prepares you for this!" Nigel exclaimed "Oh, I feel like just shooting to the surface and getting out of this cage. But, I'm going to pull myself together." The Megalodon passed the cage again and Nigel continued "I must admit, I'm really, really scared of this."
The Megalodon burst from the water in a vain attempt to grab the chum bag, which had been raised again.
"He looks like he's taking a pass now!" Nigel cried as the Megalodon, which had failed to grab the chum bag, circled back around "And he's going to be really close! I'm not sure whether I can get the Shark Cam on!" He thrust the camera forward "Ah, oh! Missed that time!"
As the Megalodon swam a little distance away, Nigel said "Oh, I really have to get the camera onto the fin," and the Megalodon swam past the cage again; Nigel thrust the Shark Cam forward, but, once again, missed "Ah, this is hopeless. This is harder than I thought. The fin is just to high."
The Megalodon had now turned around and was swimming right at the cage; Nigel cried "And it's coming straight at the cage!" as the cage shook twice. Once the Megalodon had swam a suitable distance away, Nigel left the cage and swam to the surface.
He climbed back onto the Ancient Mariner and clambered over to the other side; climbing down a small ladder, he said "I can't attach the camera from the cage, so I'm going to try from this platform." He looked over to the two people holding the chum bag and said "The chum bag - don't put it over the side; keep your eye on the shark, see if you can get it in a line along here, please, and I'll be ready."
The chum bag was suspended in the air and the fish oil and the bits of fish pieces began to drip into the water below. The Megalodon burst from the water; the Shark Cam, sensing that Nigel was in danger, flared into life. A Time Portal erupted in front of the Megalodon, and the Megalodon was gone.
"That was close!" Nigel cried, emerging from the water and climbing on to the Ancient Mariner "It was my fault. I didn't move quick enough. Now, we know how the adults hunt, how the juveniles hunt and we have one of each for the park, so we'd best be getting back."
Bob is about to receive an unwelcome surprise.
The underwater Time Portal in the Megalodon tank flared into life and the fully grown fifty three foot long Megalodon emerged.
"Another one." Bob stated "Nigel must be trying to kill me."
"No," Commented Nigel, who had now arrived "It tried to eat me, the Shark Cam activated the Time Portal and the Megalodon went through."
"Well," Bob began "I'll have to stick this one in with the other one!"
"Good luck, Bob." Nigel chuckled as the fully grown fifty three foot long Megalodon thrashed about "Good luck indeed."
Next time, Nigel goes back 65.5 million years to North America in an attempt rescue one of the largest known flying animals of all time and meets another heard of Triceratops, a group of Torosaurus and some very hungry Tyrannosaurs on the way. Meanwhile, back at Prehistoric Park, several new dinosaurs are hatching, Bob has to deal with the tempers of Terence and Matilda - as well as the inspectors, who still remain at the Park - and a new employee joins Prehistoric Park.
Creatures caught this chapter:
Odobenocetops leptodon: 1 Male
Carcharodon Megalodon: 1 Male, 1 Female
To Be Continued