Last Day of the Dinosaurs
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Last Day of the Dinosaurs is a 2010 Discovery Channel television documentary about the extinction of the dinosaurs. It portrays the Alvarez hypothesis as the cause of extinction.
Production
The dinosaur models created for Clash of the Dinosaurs were reused for this program. The Parasaurolophus model was used for Charonosaurus even though the legs of Charonosaurus were shorter than those of Parasaurolophus. The Deinonychus model was used for Saurornithoides (rather inaccurately, as Saurornithoides was slenderer than Deinonychus), and the Sauroposeidon model was used for Alamosaurus (even though Alamosaurus had different proportions than Sauroposeidon). The same Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and Quetzalcoatlus models were also used. These models were placed upon different backdrops most of the time than those used in Clash of the Dinosaurs.
Plot
The events of "Last Day of the Dinosaurs" takes place in the what are now Pacific Northwest of North America, central Mexico, and Mongolia during the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event.
In the Pacific Northwest of North America, towering granite mountains rise above a lush, forested valley full of vegetation including ferns and trees. This is the domain of the ultimate forms of ancient evolution; dinosaurs. A Quetzalcoatlus, a large flying pterosaur, is soaring above the valley during a rainstorm. Down on the valley floor, it spots an unguarded nest of dinosaur eggs. The Tyrannosaurus Rex hatchlings are defenseless. The pterosaur flies down and lands, eating several of the chicks. Meanwhile, the father Tyrannosaurus is hunting for prey in the forest when its acute sense of smell alerts it to the intruder at the nest and the dinosaur runs back towards the nest. The Quetzalcoatlus is forced to flee when the angry father T. rex arrives, it tries to fly off but its huge wings prevent it from flying in the thick forest. The T. rex repeatedly lunges and tries to kill it. It finally takes off just as the father T. rex lunges, biting off the pterosaur's foot but it manages to fly away.
Later, a T. rex, possibly the male from earlier, attacks an armored Ankylosaurus before being driven off by it. Meanwhile, a male Triceratops loses a fight for mating rights against another male Triceratops. Two T.rex hear the commotion and close in to hunt down the loser. The dinosaur turns and runs but the Tyrannosaurs follow forcing the slow herbivore to turn and fight. One of the Tyrannosaurus goes behind the Triceratops and bites down on its hind legs whilst the second predator bites down on its neck, killing it. The two Tyrannosaurs feast on their prey. Meanwhile, in Mongolia a herd of Charonosaurus is drinking at a watering hole in an oasis. A Saurornithoides steals an egg from a nest and flees, but the enraged mother Charonosaurus follows and the raptor hides in a cove. It tries to eat the egg but the mother arrives and bellows its rage. The raptor however has summoned its team mate. Outnumbered, the mother hadrosaur flees but the two raptors race after it. They jump onto the fleeing dinosaur and hold on, biting and shredding the flesh. The Charonosaurus finally stumbles and collapses before dying of blood loss. The two Saurornithoides feast on their prey.
In what is today central Mexico, a large herd of Alamosaurus is roaming the plains in search of food. Meanwhile, a six-mile wide asteroid formed from the collision of two asteroids 100 million years earlier, enters the Earth's atmosphere. The scorching asteroid hits the Earth at a 30-degree angle in the Gulf of Mexico, near the Yucatan Peninsula, creating a massive explosion and sending debris flying into the air. One minute after impact, the explosion heats the air temperature near the crash site to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Hundreds of Alamosaurus are burned alive from the searing heat of the explosion before be pulverized by falling rubble. Two minutes after impact, seismic shock waves trigger an 11.1 earthquake that rips through the ground and knocks over many other sauropods and stuns them. The stunned sauropods die from internal wounds. And finally, three minutes after impact, the blast pulse wave radiates outward in a perfect circle from the crash site. The blast wave hits and blows away the remaining sauropods even though the dinosaurs weigh 30 tonnes. Most of the eggs in the sauropod's nests have also been destroyed but some eggs, buried under the cool soil, have survived.
The effects of the collision begin to affect the animals in the British Columbia. Ten minutes after impact, an 11.1 magnitude earthquake ripples through the valley floor. Trees begin collapsing and falling debris litters the ground and drive animals to flee from the valley. However, though several Triceratops and Ankylosaurs are engulfed and barbecued alive by the 300 degree ejecta cloud, a burning cloud of microscopic dust, ash and sand particles, travelling at 10, 000 miles per hour thrown up into the air by the asteroid's impact. Fifteen minutes after impact, the ejecta cloud has spread to the Pacific Northwest from the Gulf of Mexico and threatens to in-circulate the entire planet in ash. A mating pair of Quetzalcoatlus tries to fly away, but pieces of flaming debris shower the valley and the male pterosaur is knocked from the sky to his death. The burning rock also injures the female, forcing it to land. Just thirty minutes have passed since the asteroid hit.
The soaring temperatures create high humidity in the valley and force the Triceratops to keep moving. Many of the dead dinosaurs provide plentiful food for the hungry Tyrannosaurs. Unfortunately, the flaming debris create massive fires that devastate forests of the Pacific Northwest. Just one day has passed since the impact. Down in the valley, the air pressure plummets and ignites a firestorm. The tinder dry vegetation ignites instantly. The temperature in the valley reaches 1800 degrees F. The trees burn fiercely and the panicked animals race up the valley slopes in terror, struggling to get away but the fires spread quickly. The female Quetzalcoatlus stands over the male pterosaur's body but then panics when the vegetation around it catches fire. The pterosaur manages to take off despite her tattered wings but leaves her dead mate behind. Smaller animals are able to hide underground but the larger animals are forced to flee from the fire.
Forty five minutes have passed since the impact. In Mongolia, the superheated ejecta cloud rolls in silently from the east. The burning cloud increases the temperature around Mongolia by several degrees every second. Finally the temperature reaches 300 degrees, causing the Charonosaurus and the Saurornithoides to run inside a cave for shelter when the temperature started to increase. When temperatures finally decrease in five hours, the Saurornithoides run outside and start feeding on Charonosaurus corpse; soon most of the surviving Charonosaurus go to the watering hole although one stays inside the cave. Meanwhile, the ejecta cloud has caused a huge sandstorm due to 300 degree baking temperature that kills and buries all but a single female Charonosaurus protected in the cave. The Saurornithoides manage to hide from the worst of the storm by crouching behind a dead dinosaur but the sandstorm buries their meal.
One day has passed since impact. The hungry Saurornithoides return to the watering hole, where the last remaining Charonosaurus is drinking. The Saurornithoides are desperately hungry, yet are weak from their ordeal. One of the Saurornithoides recklessly attacks the Charonosaurus only to be killed when the dinosaur collapses on top of her attacker, crushing it with her weight. The remaining Saurornithoides resorts to eating the dead body of its companion.
Four days have passed since impact, food is in critical supply across the entire planet. In the Pacific Northwest, four Triceratops head towards an unscathed lush island in search of food. The rest of the continent has been stripped of vegetation by firestorms and falling debris. However, when the asteroid hit the Earth, it caused an earthquake under the ocean. This forms a huge megatsunami, but also causes the water to recede and form a dry land bridge to the island. All but one of the Triceratops walk across the land bridge to the island. The weak female Quetzalcoatlus lands and eats a stranded fish. Meanwhile, the 300 foot tall megatsunami builds and races towards the shore. The pterosaur takes off but is caught into the vast wave and drowns. The megatsunami reaches the island and destroys it by deluging the island and only one Triceratops, which did not cross to the island, has survived. The others are drowned by the flood of water.
In days that follow, few dinosaurs remain. Ten days have passed since impact. In Mongolia, the starving Charonosaurus stays close to the watering hole, but collapses and dies from inhaling hydrogen sulfide fumes from the bubbling watering hole. The Saurornithoides runs up to the dead Charonosaurus, but before it can start feeding it too collapses and is killed by the poisonous gas. The refuge is turned into death trap.
One and a half months have passed since the impact. In the Pacific Northwest, only a handful of dinosaurs patrol the gray wasteland. An Ankylosaurus, severely weakened by hunger finds a small bush but is almost forced to fight a wandering Triceratops. Suddenly, a starving Tyrannosaurus appears. It grabs the Triceratops's horn and the prey struggles causing the T. rex to break off one of its horns and another horn impales the T. rex in the eye. Despite losing an eye, however, the Tyrannosaurus lunges again and bites down on the dinosaur's neck killing it. It then turns to the Ankylosaurus. The Ankylosaurus swings its tail and strikes the Tyrannosaur's right leg but it has been weakened by hunger and its blow only angers the predator. the Tyrannosaurus flips the weak Ankylosaurus over and rips out its throat so it bleeds to death. But, the T. rex accidentally trips on the Ankylosaurus's swishing tail and is impaled on the Triceratops's horn through its neck as it collapses.
A few months have passed since the impact. In Mexico, the first region to be hit by the asteroid, an Alamosaurus baby emerges from an egg that was sheltered away in the ground. All around the world, small handfuls of dinosaurs try to start over. However, their species are already considered extinct as they cannot replenish their numbers and in the end inbreeding and disease reduced their population to a single dinosaur until it dies as well, ending the dynasty.
But life on Earth is not completely destroyed. Fish and crocodiles were sheltered underwater. Snakes and lizards hid in caves. Birds could fly above or swim away from disasters. Insects, scorpions and spiders took refuge under rocks or hid deep inside tree trunks. Mammals like Mesodma and Purgatorius hid in burrows and feed on whatever they can find. Three years after impact, the heavy blanket of dust, ash and soot clears away so sunlight can reach the planet again.
Several years after impact, ferns and forests carpet the Earth again and set the stage for a new era; the era of mammals. The mammals now multiply and diversify; countless species of mammals evolve, live and die until finally, 10,000 species explode across the planet and one species, humans, eventually rule the planet like the dinosaurs once had. In the end, humans would never have existed if an asteroid had not collided with the prehistoric Earth and doomed the dinosaurs to extinction. Only because they died out, can human beings live.
References
- Harris, Bill (November 20, 2010). "'Dinosaurs' documentary compelling". Toronto Sun. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher=|publisher=(help) - "66m BC: Life and death of dinosaurs". Thesun.co.uk. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - "World Premiere for 3D Special on Discovery World HD". Broadcaster Magazine. December 1, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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