Synopsis: "In this story, we'll document the life of a male Majungasaurus/Majungatholus named Black Bite, and document his attempts to become the top predator of his island home of Madagascar."

Maevarano Formation/Madagascar

70 million years ago/Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous

Somewhere in the middle of a lush Cretaceous scrubland, in a nest made of earth, leaves, is a clutch of eggs. It is currently the wet season and there are signs of life. Inside one of the eggs, a tiny creature is starting to face his first big challenge of breaking through the outer shell of his egg chamber. Using the tip of his broad snout, he pushes through the outer shell, and pops out of his egg and into the world, which he is welcomed to by a warming shine of sunlight. As for what species he is, he has a stubby little horn jutting out the middle of his head, a rounded-shaped skull, two legs with three toes on each foot, a pair of tiny little arms, and a mouthful of sharp, serrated, meat-slicing teeth. This is a baby Majungasaurus crenatissimus, Madagascar's top-of-the-line predator/hunter. Also known as "Majungatholus". Often referred to sometimes as "the T-Rex of the East". We'll call him Black Bite, a name he'll earn soon enough, and he's going to lead us around his island home of 70 million years ago, to tell us, not only his story, but also the story of the dinosaurs that lived on the island of Madagascar. Right now, his brothers and sisters are also beginning to hatch from out of their eggs too. Together, they call out, confusing him. Just then, a massive female Majungasaurus, having heard the squeaking sound of the hatchlings, approaches the nest. Black Bite stumbles out of the nest to get a better look. They are at her mercy. Fortunately, this is their mother. Normally, she would have a mate with her, which would be their father, to help take care of them, but, several months ago, her mate was killed by another, rival, male Mujungasaurus in a brutal fight. So, now she's all there is to take care of them. She welcomes Black Bite to the world by nuzzling him, before doing the same to his siblings. For now, he can rely on his mother's protection, but within weeks, he will have to learn to stand on his own two feet. In about six to seven years, he could become the island's top predator like his mother, but the odds on him surviving that long, right now, are low.

3 hours later….

Black Bite and his siblings have been staying very close to the nest. But if anything, it is starting to become much less of a safe place to be. Their mother knows that the smell of all these new hatchlings will soon attract other larger predators. So, eventually, the mother decides that it is time to lead her unruly brood away.

3 days later….

70 million years ago, Madagascar was already an island, since it was separated from the mainland of Africa for 80 million years. So long, that most of its animals are now very different from any to be found elsewhere. But its climate was much hotter and drier than it is today. In the Cretaceous period, Madagascar was subject to devastating droughts, especially during the dry season, which will very soon be upon the animals that live here. And even its biggest predator, Majungasaurus, is especially vulnerable to starvation. But the smaller creatures have totally different ways of surviving both seasons.

Here, among the trees, a small feathered dinosaur that can fly, or glide, called Rahonavis ostromi, lands on a branch of one of them. This little, bird-like dinosaur, who is actually a tiny dromaeosaurid, or raptor, had feathers all over its body, could flap its relatively weak wings off the ground slightly, and could glide from tree branch to tree branch with poise and grace. Unlike birds, however, it has teeth, no beak, claws on its arms, and a long tail. It is smart in terms of dinosaurs, and also has large eyes, possibly to help see in the dark, at night. It is small, only about the size of a hawk, but is also advanced in terms of dinosaurs. It was so bird-like, in fact, that scientists are still debating about if it was both a bird "and" a dinosaur, and if it should be classified as both. Rahonavis lives in forested and desert areas, and both scavenges on the carcasses of dead dinosaurs and eats insects. But those are not its only strength; it also may have been good at repeating, or mimicking, the sounds that other animals made, and could have used it to its advantage in order to keep itself alive, making it sort of like the mockingbird of the Cretaceous period, despite being much larger. It listens to all the different sounds it hears and copies their creators by either replying, or just mimicking.

This little male is searching for sustenance. Just then, along with the many bird sounds he hears and copies, he hears the sounds of a giant dinosaur approaching and mimics them too. A passing Rapetosaurus krausei, in the promise of an easy lunch, lures Rahonavis from his safe perch. He glides down and lands on the Rapetosaurus' back and bags a couple of insects on it, before settling down on it and enjoying a safe ride through the misty forest and out into the open and arriving at a grove of melons on the edge of the forest. As the Rapetosaurus begins to feed on some of the melons, the Rahonavis hears another, rather strange, sound and copies it, before flying down to feed alongside his giant travel companion. Just then, he hears a loud roar echoing through the mist and bouncing off the trees, and replies by mimicking it.

Then, from out the mist and the nearby trees, an approaching Majungasaurus, who turns out to be Black Bite's mother, charges into view, and, without knowing, almost steps on the Rahonavis, causing him to jump out of the way the minute he realizes her, and instead, crushes a small melon under her foot. She attacks the Rapetosaurus and they battle it out, until they soon disappear into the mist. The Rahonavis has watched everything, and then as silence falls, he hears the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. He turns to find Black Bite and his siblings standing right in front of him. A small dinosaur like him would be of no interest to a 7 meter adult like their mother, but to a baby, like Black Bite and his siblings, he would be a perfect size to tackle, but neither Black Bite or his siblings doesn't seem too interested in hunting him, and are, instead, rather intrigued by him. But only two of his siblings, one of his brothers and one of his sisters, are different. And so, they show hunting behavior and chase the Rahonavis until he escapes up a tree. Just then, the Rahonavis hears the strange sound from earlier before again, and mimics to attract the noise-maker. The two baby Majungasaurus siblings hear it too. Suddenly, a giant tongue shoots out and grabs the female by surprise. The male wonders what happened, and then, all the sudden, the culprit reveals itself as a giant frog, as it swallows the female hatchling whole. The terrified male hatchling makes a run for it, but, also by surprise, is grabbed by another giant frog's shooting tongue, and swallowed whole by it. Beelzebufo ampinga, also known as the "Devil Frog". A soccer ball-sized amphibian; the largest known frog to ever hop the earth. It's so big, it can swallow a small or baby dinosaur whole. Which means that it could go down in history as the only-known dinosaur-eating frog. Just then, a small herd of Rapetosaurus passes by, and one of them crushes one of the Beelzebufo under its foot. The Rahonavis sees the opportunity of another free ride, and so, flys down onto one of the Rapetosaurs' backs and settles down as it enjoys its safe travel with the herd. One of the Rapetosaurus bellows and the Rahonavis mimics it. As the herd continues forward on their migration, Black Bite and his family are shown feeding on a dead Rapetosaurus. Probably the one that the mother battled earlier. They now know that the other two hatchlings were caught and eaten by the Beelzebufos. So now, Black Bite has only six brothers and five sisters.

1 month later….

The dry season has arrived, and Black Bite and his family are roaming the drought-stricken deserted area in search of food. During the dry season, scavenging is the only way to survive. We thought that Majungasaurus was the top predator here. But then, in 2003, some bones of a number of Majungasaurs were reported gouged with teeth marks. It appeared that there was a bigger, more brutal killer at large. But there were no other bigger carnivores found in the area, and so the tooth marks didn't belong to any other carnivore in the region. The family continues searching for a meal, until the mother notices some Rahonavis heading in the same direction down a slope. She knows from experience that these small scavengers could lead her family right to a carcass if they had already found one. So, they follow the small feathered gliders until they come upon a whole flock of Rahonavis feeding on the immense rotting carcass of a dead Rapetosaurus, or whatever's left of it, and then descend down the slope and approach, scaring them off in the process, before feeding on the carcass. Being smaller means Rahonavis needs less food to survive. A carcass will attract every big predator from miles around.

Just then, the Rahonavis notice something that sends them scurrying away. The mother Majungasaurus notices it too, and so Black Bite and his siblings hide under her. A male Majungasaurus, attracted to the feast. This is definitely not her mate, since he died several months ago. So, he is a rival, and also, the male who killed her mate, and he wants the carcass for himself. It is more than capable of challenging for the carcass. He approaches the family and roars fiercely at them, the mother growls and snarls back at him, but he isn't the least bit intimidated. The family sidesteps as he approaches the carcass and briefly checks to make sure no one approaches, then begins feeding, before quickly noticing the mother approaching him, roaring, and aggressively snarling and roaring back at her. Not wanting to put her young's lives in danger, she wisely backs down, and the rival male resumes feeding on the carcass. As the family begins to move on to try their luck elsewhere, one of Black Bite's siblings finds a small piece of meat that's too big for him to swallow whole, and feeds on it. The male notices this and approaches, scaring the juvenile off and eating the piece of meat. Then, from out of nowhere, the mother attacks him and furiously bites his neck.

Majungasaurus has short arms and can't grasp. Like all other large predatory theropod dinosaurs, it's all about the bite. The male wrestles the female off him and he slowly retreats, wounded and bleeding. The shape of Majungasaurus' skull and teeth suggest a very different biting style to the flesh-tearing dinosaurs. With a short and broad muscular skull, it was a dino better adapted to biting and gripping rather than slashing its prey. This fight is about more than just winning the feeding rights to a carcass. As the badly wounded rival male is about to find out. The mother quietly walks around him from behind, and then attacks him once again, and then, to avenge her deceased mate, finally kills him. After that she then begins to feed from his body, along with Black Bite and his siblings. When the bite marks on the mauled Majungasaurus remains were studied more closely, the marks on the bones were found to match the only large carnivore in the region. There is no bigger killer in these lands than Majungasaurus. This is the first, irrefutable evidence of dinosaur cannibalism. It might seem shocking, but it's a behavior that clearly shows that the most successful killers will exploit any situation to their maximum advantage. He doesn't know it just yet, but Black Bite is looking at the possibility of his own future.

6 months later….

6 more months have passed, the wet season has once again returned, and Black Bite and his siblings have grown to less than one half the size of their mother. No longer the defenseless hatchlings that they once were, they are now ready to begin their first hunting lessons.

Nearby, a small herd of Rapetosaurus is browsing in the trees. The Majungasaurus family silently stalks them from nearby, scanning the herd for any potential targets. They then lock onto an individual that has wandered away from the herd. The hunt starts off with the family splitting up into different ambush spots, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The mother starts off by breaking cover and charging straight at the target. She attacks it and the Rapetosaurus is completely caught off-guard by surprise, as he turns to face his attacker. Then, Black Bite and his siblings break cover and race towards the target to join the hunt. The Rapetosaurus can hold off only one Majungasaurus, but not a whole pack. As he tries to retreat, the siblings work as a team and block his escape route, and the whole family surrounds it, and together, they attack it from all different directions, inflicting as much injury as they can. Then, finally, Black Bite leaps up at the sauropod's neck and clamps his jaws down tight on it, and refuses to let go. The sauropod bellows out loudly in pain, as it is unable to escape the family's jaws. The pack works in unison to bring the behemoth onto its side and then, Black Bite delivers the final killing blow.

For Black Bite, this is his first successful hunt. He roars victoriously, along with his siblings and mother, who then proudly nuzzles each of her now-grown up children, as they have each proven themselves an effective hunter. They all begin to feed on the carcass together, which will be one of the last meals they'll ever have together, before Black Bite and his siblings will eventually leave her to live on their own. Most of them will leave independently, while others who have a close bond with one another will both leave together, and stay together for life.

1 year later…. (Black Bite's First Year)

Black Bite now hunts alone with only one of his brothers and two of his sisters, who are twins. The rest of his siblings have parted ways with him, as well as his mother, who they have all left now, and they are thriving. Right now, they are not hunting. They're marking and expanding their new territory, and creating their new hunting grounds. Majungasaurus can own huge territories of up to 500 square kilometers. In the center of their territory is a swampy clearing with muddy pools, surrounded by trees and as part of a relatively small river. On the northeastern border of their territory in their newly-built lair, where their nest is located. Their lair is well-chosen as the best piece of real estate in the area, it is near the top of a rocky and earth-filled incline, with a cave den for shelter and exceptional views of the surrounding landscape. The rest of their territory is mostly made out of forests in the east, plains in the north and west, deserts in the south, and swamps in the middle, connected to a series of freshwater rivers and ponds. Perfectly well-suited environments and habitats for Majungasaurus and all the other creatures who live with it.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, in one river in particular that runs through a rocky area somewhere in the middle of Black Bite's territory, as river water flows downstream, it scours out billions of tons of sand and gravel and even shifts great boulders. The finer sediments may be transported for hundreds of miles, but as the river broadens, it slows. At another part of the river, water flows at a sandbar area. And as a consequence, it begins to drop some of its load. And animals whose ancestors lived in the sea begin to appear. Crabs. In some places, there may be dozens per square meter. Then suddenly, one crab is snatched up by something. And then another, and another, and another, as the other crabs took refuge wherever they could. The culprit turns out to be a small predatory dinosaur about the size of an average family dog, and that has the strangest set of teeth at the front of its jaws.

This is Masiakasaurus knopfleri. A female, six feet long. And she has a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Just what you need to deal with awkward, multi-legged prey. She gnaws on the crab in her mouth, and soon swallows it whole. Other crabs nearby crawl around, as she chitters and watches them. Then, she rushes forward and snatches up another crab and gnaws through its shell before swallowing it. Crabs may have hard shells, but they're full of protein. Too good an opportunity to miss. And not only for her. Just then, three baby Masiakasaurus appear from behind a log. She has three young. Only four inches tall. And not quite ready to take on large crabs. They rush over to their mother, chittering, as she places another crab she has caught down in front of them, and they begin to feed on it. They still rely on their mother's leftovers. But some youngsters develop hunting instincts early. Very tempting. One of the youngsters turns its attention to a lone crab nearby, and then soon starts stalking it. The smallest crabs can be swallowed whole. Unfortunately, what they lack in size, they make up for in speed. As the youngster rushes around more, chittering, its mother then squawks out for it to come back. It's best for the young not to stray too far. And for a very good reason, too. Then, as the youngster finds another crab and rushes over to it nearing a pool of water, suddenly, a huge Beelzebufo lunges out of the water and grabs the helplessly shrieking young Masiakasaurus with its tongue and pulls it into its mouth. The two other youngsters watch as the giant frog closes its mouth and swallows their sibling whole. The mother Masiakasaurus stares hard at the monster frog, and her two remaining youngsters rush over to her. And soon, with his hunger satisfied, the Beelzebufo lowers down into his pool. He won't need to feed again for a month. Soon, the mother Masiakasaurus begins to lead her remaining offspring away. These sandbars may be a rich feeding ground, but there can be a high price to pay for living here.

2 weeks later….

As mentioned before, the island of Madagascar has been separated from the African mainland for 80 million years. So long that most of its animals are now very different from any to be found elsewhere. Because dinosaurs aren't the only creatures around here, or anywhere else on the planet. Water reflects an animal walking by as it hisses, and through the brush it looks to be a species of crocodilian. And soon, a reptile with a short snout-shaped muzzle emerges from the plants, along with a whole group of its kind. This is Simosuchus clarki. It's not a dinosaur but a miniature relative of crocodiles. One that lives almost entirely on land and is strictly vegetarian. One Simosuchus reaches up to grab leaves that are out of reach by rearing up and standing on top of another. Other members of the group were simply basking in the sun, or sleeping in the shade. Simosuchus have tough, armored bodies which protect them from attack by the island's predators. One Simosuchus lays while sleeping as another stands guard keeping a lookout lightly rumbling. So they can risk dropping their guard... sometimes.

Nearby lies Black Bite, along with younger brother and younger twin sisters. They've been watching the Simosuchus for about 10 minutes now, and are waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But they're about to find out they're not the only ones... and that they are not alone. Nearby, something rumbles as it stalks while hunting as it huffs. Another Majungasaurus. An adult female. She too watches the Simosuchus, waiting for the right moment to strike, and one Simosuchus notices her as it rumbled, as she watches them and reveals her left eye all gray. This particular female is blind in one eye, so she finds it hard to make a kill, and she's now very hungry. She finally decides to charge at the group of Simosuchus, causing them to spot her and make a run for it. Black Bite and his siblings also notice her, and are none too pleased to see her trespassing on their territory. The Simosuchus rushed by the bushes with the Majungasaurus right behind them. But the Simosuchus have a plan as they rushed to some burrows. The Simosuchus have a network of escape routes that lead them to their underground burrows. One by one, the Simosuchus each rushed to a burrow, but one male got to one already taken. Once inside, they block the entrance with their heavily armored backs. The female Majungasaurus finally catches up as she snorts and grunts, spotting them. The male Simosuchus tries to find another burrow that's empty, but is again and again beaten to each one he finds, possibly leaving him as an easy target.

This little male is unlucky. But he's not helpless. Knowing that he's got to buy himself time, he then turns to his attacker and stands his ground, hissing at the Majungasaurus. He then shifts sideways, confronting the Majungasaurus as she looks wary of making the final blow. Reverse charges, tail swipes and aggressive kicks. Everything he needs to confuse the predator. The Majungasaurus growled as she was wary to make a move as the Simosuchus grunts as he continues his intimidation display, hissing. Soon, he makes a break for it and rushes to a burrow that hasn't been taken as the Majungasaurus rushed after him. She jabs her blunt, bulldog-like snout into the entrance, but was already too late. The hunter's snout is too broad to reach very far inside. She soon lifts her head out from the burrow and growls frustratingly from hunger. And tilting her head sideways she peeks through the entrance with her good eye seeing the Simosuchus blocking the entrance with his armored back. And she leans down as she is not giving up so easily just yet. But just to be on the safe side, the Simosuchus digs even deeper. Some dirt was then kicked out of the hole as the Majungasaurus backs up and roars in frustration as she turns away and begins to leave. For the Majungasaurus, yet another hunt has ended in failure. And things are already about to get worse than that for her. Black Bite and his siblings appear and then confront and surround her, and aggressively hiss, growl and roar at her in order to defend their territory, which she has now realized that she has trespassed on. Exhausted from the failed hunt, and definitely at a total disadvantage because of her blinded left eye, the female is too weak to fight. She is forced to leave the area, and so, is driven off by the young Black Bite and his siblings. They'll have to re-establish the boundary lines of their territory by re-marking them with scent to make sure that she and other Majungasaurus won't intrude on their turf again.

Simosuchus is not the only evolutionary oddity to thrive on Madagascar. The island is also home to another group of very unusual animals that dinosaurs share the planet with.

Mammals.

This is a female Adalatherium hui. She's less than two feet long. But even so, she's still one of the largest mammals to have yet evolved. She then crawls along a tree trunk. She spends most of her waking hours searching for food. The Adalatherium soon gets to a burrow and heads into it. At the end of this tunnel, there are eggs… potentially a rich source of protein. But she doesn't eat this particular clutch. The Adalatherium sniffs the clutch, then lies down and sleeps next to it. These are her own eggs. And this is her burrow. Adalatherium is one of the many mesozoic mammals that lays eggs, just like the modern-day echidna and platypus of Australia. Then, something inside one of the eggs begins to stir. The eggs are starting to hatch. Soon one egg hatches as a newly born Adalatherium emerges from its shell, and then, all the other eggs hatched as the pups work themselves free from their eggs. The hatchlings' eyes have not yet opened, but instinctively, they head towards their mother to feed on milk. She produces it from modified sweat glands on her belly, and for now, it's all the food they need.

(Several days and two whole months pass by)

Two months later, and the cubs have more than quadrupled in size. To produce enough milk for them, their mother must herself eat a great deal. So every night, she has to leave the safety of the den in order to feed. And so, she climbs to the entrance of her lair and then the tree trunk that leads to it as she heads off into the darkness of the night to find food. Her eyesight, like that of many burrowing animals, is not very sensitive. She relies instead on her acute hearing. And if she hears something that might be dangerous, she stays perfectly still. Nearby, Black Bite is stalking upon, hunting at night with his superb night vision as he is patrolling his territory while his younger siblings are all back at their lair, guarding it. She remains motionless for a few moments, then Black Bite soon turns away and heads off, continuing his search for prey and his routine night patrol. Trouble avoided. She returns to searching in the earth for roots and seeds.

The next morning….

The cubs are growing fast and so are their appetites. The female is now having to search almost nonstop for food. So her cubs are left unguarded for hours at a time. But the cubs have no idea that they're about to have some unwelcome company. Outside, a Masiakasaurus wanders by dangerously close to the den site as it chitters. A hunter. And one particularly well-adapted for catching burrowing prey. The Masiakasaurus approaches the entrance of a hole and sniffs it for anything to eat. And it soon cranes its head through the entrance. With its long neck and narrow head, it can investigate any hole that might contain a meal. The Masiakasaurus backs away having found nothing inside, and heads up the hill and checks out another hole but finds nothing as it chitters and continues on. In the burrow, the cubs were still sleeping, unaware of the hunter outside. Back outside, the Masiakasaurus continues patrolling the area for food and was getting dangerously close to the burrow as the cubs were still sleeping, unaware of the fact that they are in danger and being hunted. But hunters may themselves become the hunted. Then suddenly, a large snake strikes out at the Masiakasaurus with a loud hiss and roar and coils around the dinosaur. The mother Adalatherium had just returned and she saw the constrictor around the helpless Masiakasaurus as a lizard crawls on the tree trunk. Madtsoia madagascariensis, a snake nearly 25 feet long, squeezes its prey to death. This neighborhood has now become rather dangerous. The Adalatherium soon returns to her burrow as her cubs gathered as she lays down for them to feed.

(Later, that night….)

As night falls, the mother leads her young out of the burrow for the very first time. Knowing that they must find a safe new home for themselves, under the moonlight, they seize the moment and abandon the hole as they head off into the night. For now, at least, they must stay close together.

2 years later…. (Black Bite's Third Year)

By age 3, Black Bite is now an adolescent teenager. His younger brother is about a year younger than him, and his twin sisters are both a year younger than him, but are both the same age as each other. Right now, they're currently on the hunt for something to eat, but not before leaving a series of scent marks; the outline boundaries for their lair and hunting grounds to stay with it, and for rival Majungatholus to keep out. Just then, they come upon an adult male Majungatholus, who is on the prowl for a female. The reason for that is because it's the mating season. But Black Bite won't be ready to mate for another 8 more years, until he reaches sexual maturity. Curious though, they secretly follow the male, in case he finds a female, so he can collect the experience he needs for when that time in his life comes. As for the older male, he picks up the scent of a female Majungatholus. He knows it's a female, simply by her scent. He moves in cautiously knowing that if she has a mate, there could be a confrontation.

Slowly... cautiously... the male moves further into her territory, which neighbors that of Black Bite and his siblings, following her scent like a road map. He works his way towards the center of her territory, looking for this female. He finds her. She's in a small open clearing surrounded by very dense vegetation. He moves in and begins to demonstrate his intention. He's not an aggressor, he is simply trying to woo her into mating. From a safe distance, Black Bite and his siblings watch carefully. He goes through a series of steps designed to put her into a non-defensive mood. But, she doesn't react the way he expects and doesn't understand it. The female is uninterested in his advances. He sways slowly back and forth again to try and describe to her his intention. She refuses to accept his advances. She bares her teeth and hisses with a deep rumbling growl. This is a clear message that she is looking for a fight. The Majungatholus male continues his dance to try and entice her. But she will not respond, she continues in an aggressive posture. The male tries to shift his position, perhaps put her in a different area, and see if that will change her mood. But the female's focus is not exclusively on the male, and Black Bite and his siblings wonder why.

As he moves to the side, he realizes that hidden behind her is her offspring. She then headbutts him in the side. Then, Black Bite and his siblings also notice her offspring. And like them, the male knows immediately, that's the reason why the female is not responsive to his reproductive dance. Also like Black Bite and his siblings do, the male realizes that the female will not be responsive as long as her offspring is alive. He knows he's got to get rid of that baby. In his brain, his mind switches over from reproduction to killing, as well as from becoming reproductive to aggressive. He needs to take out that baby, and he needs to do it without being killed himself. The female becomes suspicious of the male's sudden change in attitude. As do Black Bite and his siblings. Her maternal instincts shift into overdrive. She knows he's seen the baby. She puts herself between the baby and the male, as the male slowly begins to outflank her and outmaneuver her to have access to the baby.

The baby lays motionless, but the male has already spotted him. He needs to take him out. The male lowers his head and rushes in, mouth agait, trying to grab the baby. But the female is quick to react, and lowers her head, and rams the male with incredible power. The male, being bigger, recovers relatively quickly, and turns to face the female. He knows that he may have to attack the female in order to get to the juvenile. He doesn't wanna kill the female, but he will if he believes his life is in jeopardy, which, he doesn't realize at the moment, is. Although the male is larger in size, the female can match that incredible ferocity, she is defending her young and will fight to the death. The male turns his attention back towards the female. The female knows that the male has seen her offspring, and the male knows that. Enraged, she kicks up dirt like a mad bull, pawing the ground before charging, but this only infuriates the male even more. But despite that, however, the male has got to be careful, he knows a protective mother can be extremely violent, but his own reproductive urges outweigh caution. They go through a series of steps each trying to intimidate the other, but it doesn't work. The male is intent on reproduction, and the female is intent on protecting her young, the male is intent on killing that juvenile, and the female is intent on defending him. The male, again, moves in for the kill. But then, the female shifts sideways and swats him with her powerful tail. The male absorbs the blow and regains his footing. He launches a second frontal assault. The female, again, thwarts his advances, and his attack. This time, having had just about enough of this, and unable to bear, or even withstand, the female stopping him any longer, the male puts his intelligence to the test and attempts to lure the female away from her baby. He makes a series of mock charges and draws back with each one. Once she is far enough away from the baby, the male rushes her head-on. The female loses sight of her surroundings. She then trips on a log and falls to the ground. This is the opportunity the male's been waiting for. The female Majungatholus made one fatal error. She was so focused on defending her baby, she lost track of her environment. When you place a big foot like Majungatholus has on the ground, you better be assured of your footing, and she wasn't. And that's what tripped her up, and gave the male his opportunity.

The male advances toward the defenseless baby. With the female now out of the picture, he seizes his best chance to go for the kill. With his razor sharp teeth, and powerful jaws, he grabs the unguarded and defenseless baby. He then slams it hard against a tree. The male Majungatholus has this baby in his jaws. He shakes and crushes it with tremendous force, killing it. The juvenile lays helpless, and now lifeless, in his jaws. The male feels victorious, but, as he is about to find out, his victory... is short-lived.

Then, suddenly, from out of the brush, the female charges into view. The mother goes for the jugular. She now launches an attack on the male and grabs him by the rear of the neck! Using all the remaining battle power she has, she crushes the vertebra in the male's neck. The male drops the baby as he slumps to the ground. He's unable to move. She's severed his spinal cord. He's completely helpless, but still alive. The female leans down and sniffs her baby to look for signs of life. There's absolutely no movement and she now knows the baby is dead. Although she risked her life to save her young, the female Majungatholus is incapable of mourning. The brain of a dinosaur works like a light switch. There's an On and there's an Off. They only think of one thing at a time. They live in the very moment that they're in, before moving on to the next. When she realized that her baby was dead, the female Majungatholus' brain switched over from maternal to dinner. She now sees her baby as a food source. She's got to replenish the calories she burned fighting the male. Her baby is the first course. The male is the main course. But the female isn't fully-satiated. She now turns her attention to her second victim.

He's still alive, but he can't move. He makes a perfect target, and he's gonna get eaten alive. She leans over, rips open his stomach, and continues her feeding frenzy.

Black Bite and his siblings watch from nearby, having witnessed the whole thing, only escaping the same fate, because they have learnt how to avoid being cannibalized, even though they too are definitely not above cannibalism, and the other rival Majungatholus that it usually attracts. However, having also witnessed the failed courtship dance before the fight, an important lesson in life learned, Black Bite now has the techniques and experience that he needs for when the time in his life comes that he will be ready to find a mate and raise offspring of his own to increase the size of his family pack. But he knows that he will have to be very careful and only find a female who doesn't already have offspring and is ready to mate. So, by the female Majungatholus has ended the male's life, before she even notices any of them watching her in her territory, Black Bite and his siblings have moved on.

The female Majungatholus shoves her head into the stomach cavity of the male. She's seeking the most nutritious parts. She pulls her blood-covered nose out of the stomach, and in her jaws are the liver. This is the most precious part of her prey. The liver is usually the first thing predators are going to eat. It's the largest organ in the body and, more importantly, it's rich in vitamins and iron, and this is something predatory dinosaurs crave. The cannibal dinosaur will continue to gorge until her gut is full.

4 years later…. (Black Bite's Seventh Year)

4 more years have passed, and it is already the middle of the dry season. Black Bite is now 7 years old, with his brother at the age of 6 and his twin sister both at the age of 5. Right now, they're stalking a large herd of Rapetosaurus browsing nearby. They home in on their chosen target; a young adult female that has wandered away from the herd. They wait for the right moment to spring into action, and then, when they feel like their victim has wandered close enough, they seize their chance and burst out of the trees and attack, roaring fiercely, causing the Rapetosaurus to turn and flee in panic back towards the herd. The two twin sisters are the more faster of the four siblings, as they are slightly faster than their brothers. So, they easily catch up with the fleeing sauropod. They work as a team. The Rapetosaurus shifts sideways as she confronts the two sisters, bellowing at them as they hissed. The twins try to keep the Rapetosaurus in place as their brothers catch up. On her own, the Rapetosaurus can take on and hold off one or two Majungasaurus, but not four or more. Black Bite and his brother roar and hiss as they catch up to make the final blow, but the Rapetosaurus roars, quickly turning, and rams one sister off her feet and whips the younger brother in the face with the end of her tail as Black Bite snaps at the herbivore. The Rapetosaurus still ran for her life as the fallen sister got back up and the Majungasaurus pack chased after her as they roared and snapped at her. Only the protection of the herd can save her. The minute she was back safely with the herd, they form up to make a defensive stand. Black Bite roars out at them as they bellowed, but even he knew better than to attack such a large herd. Even the island of Madagascar's top predator knows when he's beaten. Unlike the younger brother.

2 hours later….

Black Bite and his pack are still looking for sustenance to make up for their failed attack. They've been roaming the dry deserted part of their territory hunting grounds for about 2 hours now, and still haven't found anything to eat, until, they eventually pick up the scent of a carcass, nearby. They follow the scent of it, until they find it, in the form of that of a long-deceased Rapetosaurus. They approach the carcass, and then begin to feed on it. While Majungasaurus' teeth are its number one weapon, its secondary weapon would be the claws on its foot. Like most theropod dinosaurs, they use their feet the way modern birds of prey use their feet. An eagle, for example, can grasp prey with its foot. Well, Majungasaurus could do the same thing. It could grasp its prey to hold it, and then it would use those teeth to rip chunks out, which is exactly what Black Bite is doing right now. This carcass should keep him and his siblings fed for at least a week or more.

4 years later…. (Black Bite's Eleventh Year)

4 years have passed, and in Madagascar, conditions are already changing. After yet another whole dry season, the first rain in months is reviving the parched land. And the wet season is once again in full swing. As pools and channels refill, the animals return. For example, a male Masiakasaurus appears and soon heads to the shallow river that is part of the swampy mud pool clearing in the middle of Black Bite's territory to drink. And they're not all dinosaurs. As the Masiakasaurus drinks, He is unaware that there is something close by as it heads towards him. Lurking in these muddy pools... is... a "monster". Just then, the Masiakasaurus notices it and squawks out sounding terrified and quickly runs off as the creature hops out of nowhere and croaks out at him. It turns out to be a male Beelzebufo. He croaks out again and the Masiakasaurus jumps back and then rushes off. As mentioned before, it's so big, it can swallow a small or baby dinosaur whole. But this male isn't here to hunt. He is looking for a mate. He then crawls through the mud and enters a pool of water and settles in it. Female Beelzebufos are fussy, so he needs to find a good spot. Only then will he be able to entice them in. He then lets out a deep croaking as the water around him ripples. His deep croaks travel far and wide. After a while he continues his calls and waits for a female Beelzebufo to respond and appear as a type of roaring or bellowing sound was heard nearby. Nearby, a shadow looms as a large dinosaur was heading towards him as the roaring continues. This isn't quite what he was hoping for. 50-foot-long Rapetosaurus. A whole herd of six of them. They have been attracted here by the promise of a mud bath. For Beelzebufo, their timing couldn't be much worse. Seeing that the giant Rapetosauruses getting too close for comfort, the Beelzebufo turns and crawls off as fast as his legs could carry him as one Rapetosaurus' right front foot lands near the pool and it's left front foot lands where the Beelzebufo was just a moment ago. Soon the 10-ton Rapetosaurus lays down and dropped onto its side as the others did as well. The Beelzebufo hops off as the Rapetosaurus herd wallows in the mud. All ornithischian dinosaurs of all different types wallow in mud as one way to keep cool on hot days just like how modern rhinos, hippos and elephants do today. His pools now lie beneath 70 tons of sauropod. The Beelzebufo hops to a shady spot and gets onto a log. Time is short. Female Beelzebufos will only mate at the start of the rainy season. He needs a new pool. There's one. The Beelzebufo crawls down from his log, and then rolls down the hill a bit, and then crawls off towards the pool. Reaching it will be dangerous. He stood at the edge of the mudbank as the Rapetosaurs bellowed and grunted as they continue wallowing. Then he hops across the mud as one Rapetosaurus lays down. He continues hopping as he makes his way though the herd of wallowing Rapetosaurs, and then crawls along the mud, until he reaches the pool at last. Finally, he's got there... but he's been noticed. He sat in his new pool as one of the Rapetosaurs stares curiously at him, then he leaps forward and croaks as the giant's head lifts up as he backs away. He's not known as a devil frog for nothing. He croaks out loudly as he claims the pool as his own. Time to try more singing… but he can't make himself heard above the sound of satisfied sauropods. Luckily for him, there's one thing that Rapetosaurs enjoy even more than wallowing in mud... and that is food. The hungry herd moves on... although, not without leaving something useful behind. Dozens of giant footprints, full of water. Perfect for a Beelzebufo to continue his quest for a mate. He gets into one of them and begins his croaking call again. Just then, the sound of another devil frog, possibly a female, is heard from close by, as the male turns to his left, as this could be his moment.

A devil frog can only survive here because every year the land is flooded by seasonal rains. And the mating season not just arrived for Beelzebufo, but also, for all the island's creatures. For Black Bite, who is now 11 years old, with his brother at age 10, and his twin sisters at 9, and has finally reached sexual maturity as a young adult, this season signals an important life goal. Since he, along with his siblings, dominates such a huge swathe of territory, he and his pack must travel quite some distance to find a female to mate with.

Meanwhile elsewhere, another, larger, herd of Rapetosaurus are also prepared for the mating season. The females first begin to attract suitors, who then start displaying by standing on their back legs to impress them. But as you and I know, finding a mate can be a hassle. Occasionally, fights breakout, between the leader of the herd and other younger males. To settle the score, the males engage in shouting matches, followed by necking, like modern Giraffes, pushing and shoving. That's usually bloodless. Those males who are victorious at the end of each fight will win the right to mate.

Meanwhile, Black Bite has spent 15 minutes searching for a mate with his siblings, but his quest, so far, has been unsuccessful. Though it isn't as hopeless as it seems. He then performs a mating call, and hopes that a female will hear it and respond back to him. Eventually, after a couple of minutes or so, his efforts are finally rewarded as a female who has heard his calls responds to them, and he and his pack continue their search.

After following the female's response for about 10 minutes, they finally find her at last. She is standing on the outskirts of their territory, as she has waited for who attracted her here to arrive. She's about the same age and size as Black Bite, and just as powerful. Black Bite can see that she doesn't have any offspring with her, and that's a good sign, because he remembered what he and his clan secretly witnessed 8 years ago. But he still knows that she is wary, and that she's got to be sure that he's fit. And he also needs to be careful. One negative response from her could still bring his whole mating season to an end. She watches him, carefully, while his brother and sisters watch from a foot behind him. He moves in and begins to demonstrate his intention. He performs the same courtship mating dance that he witnessed 8 years ago to put her into a non-defensive mood. And this time, unlike what happened 8 years earlier, the response he gets from her is different. She reacts the way he expects and hopes and understands his intention. He continues doing this for the next couple of minutes, before finally stopping and standing in his place, hoping for the best. She eventually gently nuzzles him to show him that she accepts as a mate. And so, the courtship has turned out to be successful. And now, Black Bite has a mate. His brother and sisters approach him to offer their congratulations, and he introduces his new mate to them as well. She greets them both, each, with a gentle nuzzle. This is her way of showing that she approves them both, along with Black Bite, as a trustworthy family. And so, they all head off together.

Later that evening, Black Bite and his siblings and new wife have returned to their nest and lair. And so, Black Bite and his new wife begin to mate. And this is the beginning of his life-long contribution to fatherhood. They will keep doing this for about the next few weeks, until she is fully well-fertilized. Eventually, in the not too distant future, she will soon lay a large clutch of eggs that, in about 2 months time after that, will hatch into a whole new generation of Majungasaurus.

2 years later…. (Black Bite's Thirteenth Year)

2 years have passed, and two months earlier, every species of dinosaur and other animal has laid a foundation for the future. And so, as a result, lots of the eggs that have been laid have hatched. The Rapetosaurus nesting ground is teeming with new life; up to thousands of hatchlings. The nest of a mated pair of Rahonavis is also full of new life. As are the Simosuchus nesting grounds. In the shallow part of a pond, a male Beelzebufo watches over his newly-hatched tadpoles. And inside a burrow, a female Adalatherium had laid a fresh clutch of eggs that had just hatched, and instinctively, the young head towards her to suckle. Her mate arrives to check up on their new offspring before they nuzzle. But in one nest, its clutch of eggs were not so lucky, except for three. The nest's owner is a Masiakasaurus, she has been committed to making sure that her offspring survive, though, unfortunately, all of her eggs, except three, have either been eaten through or stolen to eat by egg thieves. But, after two months of care and patience, she notices a little movement in the only three that have survived. Finally, they hatch. After everything she had been through, the Masiakasaurus has managed to bring a valuable trio of new lives into the world.

In Black Bite's territory, There are also signs of new life. By age 13, Black Bite is now fully grown and weighs 1 ton. His mate is the same as him, and his brother is now 12 years old, while his twin sisters are both 11 years old. Against the odds, Black Bite and his wife have managed to raise only four offspring. They're all about 5 weeks old, and can already move around quite well. Black Bite's brother and sisters are now the proud aunts and uncle of his children, and it will be their job to guard and protect them whenever he and his mate are off hunting. And now, supported and protected by their family, they can each take their place as a predator. Majangasaurus was the undisputed top predator of Madagascar, and dominated its forests, deserts and plains for 70 million years. But by the end of the Late Cretaceous, they became extinct about 65 million years ago, when all dinosaurs died out. So, until that happens, for now at least, Black Bite and his family will protect their young, and also teach them how to hunt, until they're old enough to hunt with them and also live on their own. Black Bite and his eldest son look out over the whole of their entire territory from the edge of their heightened lair as the sun sets from above the horizon. Islands like Madagascar may only be small, at least when compared to the continents, but all around the world, they bear witness to crucial moments in the lives of some of the most unusual creatures on our Prehistoric Planet.

(The End)

Next time on Dinosaur Life, we will follow the life of a male Alectrosaurus named Zion, as he struggles to cope with the hash hardships of the Mongolian Desert.

Author's Note:

"To discover the science behind the stories, go now to the Dinosaur Life show page."

Information from: Jurassic Fight Club (2008), Prehistoric Assassins (2010), Dinosaur Revolution (2011), Planet Dinosaur (2011) and Prehistoric Planet (2022 - 2023)

Inspiration from: Dinosaur Media and Others