When Dinosaurs Roamed America

Episode Synopsis

Middle Cretaceous Segment (90 Million Years Ago): The program then shows a New Mexico forest of the Middle Cretaceous. Some coelurosaurs scamper through the forest, among frilled and feathered dinosaurs. One lone dromaeosaur [3] tries to attack a Nothronychus, only to be slashed by its long claws. An old male Zuniceratops is attacked by the pack of dromaeosaurs and is fatally wounded. Just as it is time to finish off the old Zuniceratops, a forest fire springs up, and most of the dinosaurs escape in all directions. However, the feasting dromaeosaurs are too distracted and become trapped in the fire. Late Cretaceous Segment (65 Million Years Ago): The program explains that dinosaurs similar to Zuniceratops evolved into the famous Triceratops. In the Late Cretaceous, Anatotitan and Triceratops graze, while ornithomimids peck at small animals in the grasses. Quetzalcoatlus soar overhead, looking for carcasses. A young Tyrannosaurus arrives on the scene, and the Triceratops form a defensive circle. Unable to get past the horns of the Triceratops, the Tyrannosaurus attacks a Quetzalcoatlus, which flies away from the potential danger. The next day, the young Tyrannosaurus and its siblings are taught by their mother to hunt. They target an Anatotitan, with the young scaring it into the mother\'s trap. The Tyrannosaurus kill the Anatotitan, but before they can eat, an asteroid slams into earth, rendering all dinosaurs extinct. Out of the ashes, several Purgatorius emerge, and the narrator explains that small mammals such as these will eventually evolve into humans.