01x04 - When the Seas Died

[bunniefuu]

♪

NARRATOR:
The story of life on Earth...

[roars]

...has been marked
by a series of catastrophic

extinction events.

Natural disasters
which have threatened

to wipe out
many of the creatures

that call our planet home.

But after
every brush with death,

life has come back
even stronger.

♪

One such event took place


when underwater volcanoes

erupted on a massive scale.

[shrieking]

♪

These explosions
pushed up the sea floor

baked the land
and poisoned the oceans.

During this global catastrophe

even the mightiest
struggled to survive.

But living things
always find a way.

♪

And this is their story.

[theme music]

This is a world
dominated by giant dinosaurs.

The climate is so hot,
there are no ice caps.

Forests blanket the Earth
from pole to pole.

[dinosaur cries]

In this prehistoric jungle

a tiny cry for help
echoes through the trees.

[dinosaur cries]

It's a fluffy
newly hatched dinosaur.

Curious about the world,

he is just large enough
to have strayed from his nest.

And now he's lost.

[dinosaur cries]

Finally his cries are heard...

but not by his mom.

[shrieks]

[suspenseful music]

[whining]

Ichthyornis,

a predatory seabird.

He doesn't see
a vulnerable hatchling,

he sees lunch.

[cries]

♪

[bird shrieks]

His teeth are razor sharp

and he's brought some
friends for this lunch date.

- [birds shriek]
- [dinosaur cries]

♪

[growl]

He never
should have left the nest.

[growls]

Spinosaurus.

One of the largest
carnivorous dinosaurs

ever to walk the earth.

[growls]

[dramatic music]

Weighing more
than two bull elephants

This massive predator
would normally

stick to the rivers
and deltas for her prey.

But today,

she's used
her deadly six foot jaws...

[growls]

...to rescue her own tiny baby.

[cries]

His siblings
are glad to have him back.

For this new mother,
as with most new mothers,

keeping her babies safe
is exhausting.

Plus mom hasn't eaten
or slept in weeks.

Her full time job
is protecting her young.

[ominous music]

[bird shrieks]

[shrieking]

♪

[growl]

[shrieking]

[roars]

Not on her watch.

[dramatic music]

♪

The Ichthyornis head out to sea

to easier hunting grounds.

[shrieks]

This is an extraordinary time
in Earth's history.

The Temperature
is over 100 degrees

and it's only morning
on another muggy humid day.

It's the hottest Earth has been

in the last
hundred million years.

The cause
lies half a planet away.

[dramatic music]

Far to the west

a gigantic set
of underwater volcanoes

are pumping greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere,

super-heating
the dinosaurs world.

The continuous eruptions

are also thrusting up
the ocean floor,

creating sea levels


and pushing water onto the land.

This has created a planet

covered in entirely
new shallow seas.

Bathtub-warm waters are home
to an array of strange sea life.

This shark may look familiar

but other creatures here
are like nothing alive today.

♪

These magnificent
sleeping giants

are marine reptiles
called Pliosaurus.

They may look passive,

but they're the fiercest
predators in the ocean

and the last thing
this shark wants to do

is wake them.

♪

[growl]

[serene music]

NARRATOR: 94 million years

before modern humans
walked the Earth

and the world's oceans are


beneath the waves,
marine life has evolved

to cope with these
super-heated waters.

And the dominant predators here
are reptiles.

Like these enormous
sleeping Pliosaurus.

♪

Each weighs
as much as two school buses.

Like all reptiles,
they breathe air.

Pliosaurus, however,
never leave the water,

and can hold their breath
for up to two hours.

This female is pregnant.

For the last 18 months she
has been carrying just one baby

and her due date
is at any moment.

The shark is an opportunist

tempted by ammonites
feeding off tiny creatures

on the Pliosaurs' skin.

But this mom is on high alert.

[growl]

She's about to give birth

and predators are not invited.

And she needs her rest.

♪

The high sea levels have created
an exotic coastline

scattered with reefs,

and lush islands.

It's here,
on the edge of a shallow lagoon,

that our mother Spinosaurus
has made her nest.

[cries]

[bird shrieks]

Nearby, the Ichthyornis return
to the calm of the lagoon,

well-fed from their hunt
on the open sea.

But if they think
this is a chance to rest

they're wrong.

[shriek]

[dramatic music]

[shrieks]

Portunatasaurus.

They are drawn
to the bird's paddling feet.

But the Ichthyornis
have sharp teeth

and are not afraid to use them.

♪

The birds make their escape.

These marine lizards
are actually fish eaters.

They were just
playing with the birds.

Once the game is done,

they head out
to hunt on the reefs.

The lizard's
underwater realm is unique

to this time in Earth's history.

Corals struggle
to survive in these warm seas.

Instead, the giant reefs are
made of mounds of long tubes.

These tubes
are created by mollusks

related to clams that
filter out food from the water.

♪

Unlike the great Pliosaurus,

the Portunatasaurus
are not fully marine.

They eventually
need to come ashore to rest.

But rest rarely lasts long
for these hot heads.

The competition for space
soon leads to tension.

[dramatic music]

[growling]

Once trouble starts,
it spreads like a bar fight.

[growling]

♪

It's too hot
to fight for long though.

By midday it's reached
a stifling 110 degrees.

Humidity is off the charts

and the air pressure
is dropping dramatically.

[thunder rumbles]

All the signs,
a storm is approaching.

And these seas
hold so much thermal energy

the storms here can be enormous.

[growls]

Oblivious to the looming danger,
the Pliosaurus have woken.

The soon to be mother
needs a full meal

for her growing baby.

It's time
for these giants to hunt.

The surface waters are
too warm to carry much life.

Instead,
she and the rest of the group

swim down
to the cooler waters below.

But the distant volcanoes
are having another

disastrous effect
on the world's oceans.

Hidden in the depths
is a new threat

as the Pliosaurus
are about to find out.

[dramatic music]

NARRATOR: 94 million years ago
and the ocean floor

is being torn apart
by volcanic eruptions.

This unprecedented
outpouring of magma

is not only
pushing up sea levels

and heating the atmosphere,

but it is also
releasing huge quantities

of minerals into the oceans.

This is feeding
vast blooms of algae.

Then as the algae die
and sink to the bottom,

the process of decay consumes
all the oxygen in the water,

suffocating marine life

and creating
death zones in the deep.

In a world of sluggish ocean
currents and warm shallow seas,

these zones have been growing

and now half the Earth's
seas are stagnant.

Our Pliosaur mother-to-be
needs to eat

one ton of food a day
to support her and her baby...

but she's growing desperate.

♪

The prey she normally depends on

can't survive
in these toxic waters.

Her feeding grounds
are shrinking,

squeezed between
hot waters above

and deadly stagnation below.

To save herself and her baby
she will have to look elsewhere

and it had better arrive soon
or both will starve to death.

[light music]

As the afternoon drags on,

all living things
are feeling the heat.

The breathless forest
falls silent

as even the insects
resort to summer hibernation

to conserve water and energy.

Nearby the heat has made
our mother's Spinosaurus

drowsy and lethargic.

[chirping]

And it's causing her hatchlings
to suffer in the nest.

[growls]

Normally their pale
downy feathers keep them cool.

But they're no match for these
scorching temperatures.

[growls]

With each minute of direct sun,
they risk dying of heat stroke.

[crying]

[growl]

Finally,
their mother hears them.

She moves out
from under the trees

and provides shade
for her babies.

Relief, for the moment.

As the heat rises
the storm draws nearer.

♪

The Portunatasaurus are
returning to the water to hunt.

But this time,
they are not alone.

Their activity
has drawn the attention

of the great Pliosaurus.

Including our hungry,
pregnant mother.

There's danger in these shallows
for massive creatures like her.

Any of her pod
could easily get stranded

on these sharp,
treacherous reefs.

Most are forced to turn away.

But our pregnant mother
is prepared to take the risk.

She's desperate
to nourish her unborn baby.

[suspenseful music]

♪

She missed.

And now she's stuck.

If she can't free herself...

she will die.

[growls]

She risked
everything for her baby.

Now she leaves
hungry and wounded.

She returns to the safety
of deeper water,

yet her troubles are not over.

There is a new threat
on the horizon.

[clap of thunder]

The storm is here.

[thunder rumbling]

The warm seas
have created a monster.

A super hurricane.

[dramatic music]

NARRATOR: Our planet during
the age of dinosaurs.

Here, the overheated oceans
have created a super hurricane.

This vast storm system is
now more than 1,000 miles wide

and so powerful that clouds

have been drawn miles
into the atmosphere.

Out at sea,

wind speeds have reached
over 300 miles per hour.

And it is barreling
toward the coast.

[thunder rolling]

Our Pliosaurus
take one last breath and dive.

If they can just ride out
the ferocious storm surge,

they may have a chance
when they do come up for air.

Our soon-to-be mother
should be following the others.

But the time has come
for her to give birth.

She faces a terrible dilemma.

The moment her baby is born,
she must be near the surface

so she can coax it up
to take its first breath.

If she dives with the others,
her newborn will drown.

But she is a mom,
and there never was a choice.

She stays.

[thunder rumbling]

[dramatic music]

Along the coast,
the winds are rising fast.

And the Ichthyornis fly
inland to escape what's coming.

The Portunatasaurus
will seek safety in the water,

but not until the last minute.

They watch the approaching storm
waiting for their moment.

But on the other
side of the lagoon

our mother Spinosaurus
is starving.

She leaves her nest
in search of food.

[thunder rumbling]

Food like the lizards.

[lizards growling]

To reach them,
she goes into stealth mode.

She swims.

♪

[growling]

She needs this food
to save herself and her babies.

But the rocks slow her down.

[thunder rumbling]

Now the hurricane is upon her.

With a 40-foot storm surge,

she has no time
to get back to her nest.

All along the coastline,
the storm hits with a vengeance.

♪

Out at sea, it is chaos.

And another mother
is fighting to stay alive.

[deep resonant call]

[deep resonant call]

Her baby finally arrives.

[high-pitched chirping]

- [mother calls]
- [baby chirps]

Now she risks all
for her new son.

She must lead him to
the raging surface to breathe.

- [mother calls]
- [baby chirps]

His first breath...

could be his last.

[somber music]

NARRATOR: Eventually,
the super hurricane passes.

But it has completely changed
the shape of the coastline.

Barrier islands
have been swept away.

Reefs smothered.

And beaches moved.

Inland, thousands
of square miles of forest

have been
torn down and flattened.

[creatures chirping]

The storm surge
has lifted millions of tons

of coastal debris inshore.

But amidst all the wreckage,

some of the most vulnerable
have survived.

[Spinosaurus calling]

Our Spinosaurus hatchlings

miraculously escaped
the worst of the storm.

Even more incredible...

[Spinosaurus mother
growling gently]

Their fearless mother
is still there,

protecting her little ones.

She's battered and bruised,

but her will to survive
brought her back to her babies.

[growling softly]

Now, more than ever,
she needs food.

An Ichthyornis who should have
been k*lled by the high winds...

[clicking]

...managed to find shelter.

[insects buzzing]

♪

Unfortunately,
our brave Pliosaur mother's

heartbreaking dilemma
cost her her life.

The giant storm surge
lifted all 22 tons of her

out of the sea
and washed her inland.

- [Spinosaurus growling]
- [branches cracking]

- [growls]
- Spinosaurus are not

typically scavengers.

But today, our desperate mother

can't ignore
this incredible offering.

One mother's gift to another.

[Pliosaur baby moans]

Against all odds,
the baby Pliosaur

has survived the storm
that k*lled his mom.

[chirping]

Usually, he would spend
his first six months

with her learning to hunt.

His future looks bleak.

[chirping]

But his mother's pod
made it through the storm,

and now they surround him.

They will care for him until
he can look out for himself.

- [baby chirps]
- [deep resonant calls]

He will never know
what his mother sacrificed

to give him life.

These Pliosaurs
have survived the storm,

but their entire species
is threatened.

[volcano rumbling]

Thousands of years pass,

and the volcanoes continue
to heat and poison the ocean.

Surface water temperatures
reach nearly 100 degrees

and the deep death zones expand,

Eventually k*lling off
half of all marine life,

Including the giant marine
reptiles like the Pliosaurs.

It's one of
the greatest ocean catastrophes

in the history of our planet.

[mellow music]

After five million years,

the volcanoes
finally grow cold...

the waters cool...

and life, once again,
bounces back.

[music fades]

[distant growling]

Dinosaurs have come through
this extinction event

relatively unscathed.

And continue
to dominate the land.

[growling]

But in the oceans around them,

things have changed
dramatically.

Now they are ruled

by an entirely new dynasty

of K*llers.

[mellow music]

NARRATOR:
It's been five million years

since a crisis in the oceans

k*lled off
half of all marine life.

[distant growling]

Now the underwater volcanoes

that drove up global
temperatures

and poisoned the seas
have fallen silent.

This family
of heavily armored Nothosaurus

have come down to an estuary
to mourn one of their herd,

An old female
who lies dead in the shallows.

[mournful growling]

The old Nothosaurus'
sad death, however...

is about to contribute
to a whole new circle of life.

Gradually,
she begins to float out to sea.

By late evening,

the scent of her body
has permeated the water,

and she becomes a meal
for the sea life around her.

[dramatic music]

Fish quickly arrive
on the scene.

Soon, a bait ball forms
beneath the floating dinosaur.

[growls]

A Pteranodon begins
to circle in the sky above.

[screeching]

He may fly for miles out to sea

in search
of such an opportunity.

[screeching]

But he's not after
the Nothosaur.

[tense music]

The Pteranodon is fishing...

[munching and gulping]

...and triumphantly rests
on the old dinosaur's body

to swallow his catch.

[growling]

But now
there's blood in the water.

Cretoxyrhina.

A new species of shark
almost as big as a great white.

All this activity tips

the Nothosaur
and sends it sinking.

But the feeding frenzy
isn't over.

Cretoxyrhina
is an apex predator.

But not the apex predator.

A 50-foot-long Mosasaur.

One of the top dogs
in these new oceans.

So large he can swallow
Cretoxyrhina whole.

A lizard like Portunatasaurus
all those years before.

He and his cousins
have quickly filled the void

left by Pliosaurus and the other
large marine reptiles.

It's no longer a toxic soup
down here on the sea floor.

And gone are the strange
mollusk reefs of the past.

Corals have returned
and will claim

the old female dinosaur's body.

But her hard shell armor
will last a long time.

Her final legacy,
a unique section of reef.

[mellow music]

♪

Today, the overheated seas

that plagued the age
of the dinosaurs are long gone.

Instead, our planet cooled

and the oceans are now
an average 25 degrees colder.

This process triggered
powerful ocean currents

that helped sweep away
the stagnant dead zones.

We now have some of
the most oxygenated seas

the Earth has ever seen.

These cold waters are no place
for giant marine reptiles.

But that doesn't mean
we don't have

our own sea monsters...

the whales.

One-hundred-and-fifty-ton

majestic baleen whales
have evolved to feed

on the swarms of tiny creatures

that thrive in our icy oceans.

[whale singing]

[dramatic music]

Now is the age of mammals.

Just like
the ancient marine reptiles,

whales depend
on a complex food chain

to support their huge needs.

They also reproduce slowly

and invest heavily
in their young.

But recently
our oceans have warmed

by just two degrees.

And the ripples
through the food chain

have left
some whales struggling.

[whale moaning]

The giant reptiles may be gone,

but the challenges
of surviving at the top...

still remain.

["What a Wonderful World"
playing]

♪ I see trees of green ♪

♪ Red roses too ♪

♪ I watch them bloom
For me and you ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world

♪ Yes, I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪