I am zoologist and adventurer Nigel Marven.
For years, I've criss-crossed the globe
in search of the most dangerous animals alive today.
But just imagine a prehistoric safari.
My dream is to meet the largest and most extraordinary creatures that have ever lived...
..to travel back in time and walk with dinosaurs.
So, this was the start of my prehistoric safari,
my adventure into the world of dinosaurs.
But I wasn't here to just sightsee. I had a mystery to solve.
Look at this. This is the claw of Tyrannosaurus rex,
the most notorious flesh-eater ever known.
So, if this is the claw of T-rex,
what...is this?
A 28-inch claw. When it was first discovered by paleontologists in the 1950s,
it was so extraordinary, they thought it was the rib of a giant turtle.
Later, it was found that it was attached to 10-foot arms,
the longest arms of any creature ever found.
Paleontologists called the creature Therizinosaurus, or the ''scythe reptile''.
(BELLOWING)
Hey!
What the heck was that?
This was it. My first dinosaur encounter.
My tent had been flattened by a gigantic herbivore called Saurolophus -
at 40 feet long, the biggest plant-eater in the area.
There was something very unusual about these creatures that I wanted to get on camera.
But first, I had to get very, very close.
This is the biggest herbivore I've ever seen. She must be nearly eight tonnes.
She must have to pack in so much vegetation.
(BELLOWS)
That's what makes duck-bills special -
they're one of the few dinosaurs that can chew.
No dinosaurs can move their jaws like we can,
but the duck-bills have a battery of teeth.
There can be over 2,000 teeth in that mouth,
and they slam the lower jaw into the upper jaw, the bones distort,
and they grind the vegetation between that battery of teeth.
These are fabulous animals!
I don't believe it! Dinosaur snot!
Thank you!
That was a terrific start to the expedition,
even though those brilliant duck-bills actually trashed my tent.
But this is the reason I'm here.
The best guess by scientists is this belonged to a kind of theropod dinosaur -
that's the dynasty of dinosaurs that includes all the carnivorous ones -
and just imagine a predator with claws like this.
I'm in just the right place to find the owner of that giant claw.
This is the Nemegt Desert,
and I'm on the eastern side of the giant continent of Laurasia in the Late Cretaceous.
That's 75 million years ago.
In the 21st century, the arrangement of continents is very different,
and where I am now would be present-day Mongolia.
I don't know if I'm gonna find claws or what I'm gonna see,
but whatever happens, this is going to be a cracking adventure.
A nesting colony of Protoceratops.
These were so common in the Nemegt Desert 75 million years ago,
some paleontologists call these the ''sheep of the Cretaceous''.
Although these are little vegetarians, they're about seven feet long.
They've got really powerful beaks, and by the look of them,
a bite from one of those could snap an arm or a leg.
Those jaws are really formidable,
but I've got to get through to the other side.
There's some lush rainforest there, and that may be the home of the Giant Claw.
To do it, I'm gonna take a calculated risk.
The dinosaurs' closest relatives, the birds and the crocodilians,
they can see well in color,
and if I use this,
the Protoceratops may be deflected away from me
and they'll follow the flag.
So...let's see if it works.
(GROWLING AND BELLOWING)
Oh!
Close one!
(CAMERAMAN) Behind you, Nigel!
(HOWLS)
- Come on! - (CAMERAMAN) Oh, my Lord!
This area of the Nemegt Desert is called a ''productive dune system''.
These great big dunes and, sandwiched in between, this verdant rainforest.
It's windy. You can see the sand whipping off the top.
These dunes are marching. Every now and then, the forests are swamped.
Then, eventually, a new forest grows, so there's always new growth for dinosaurs.
This is the first forest I've found. Hopefully, down there, there's big carnivorous dinosaurs.
(BIRD SQUAWKS)
This is a perfect dinosaur forest. There are cycads, ferns,
and these conifers, some of them can soar 200 feet into the air.
(HIGH-PITCHED CALL)
(BIRD-LIKE SQUAWKING)
I keep getting glimpses of fast-moving dinosaurs in the vegetation along this creek,
and I think it's a pack of hunting Velociraptors.
I don't know what they're hunting yet.
I soon found out my hunch was right.
Moving through the trees, there were six or seven Velociraptors.
They're six feet long and lethal predators, but they're not interested in me.
I think they're stalking bigger prey. I'm gonna try to follow them.
(HOWLS)
There's their prey. That's what they've been after -
a big male Protoceratops.
He's badly wounded already.
If I circle round, if I'm careful,
I should be able to get right next to the kill.
As I got closer, I saw how the Velociraptors used those lethal claws on their toes.
This reminds me of a pack of African hunting dogs in action.
They attack persistently, and for both the Velociraptors and the dogs,
the end result is the same -
the prey dies from loss of blood and exhaustion.
The Protoceratops is dead now. They're not paying any attention to me.
They're totally focused on feeding.
I've done this with tigers...around a kill,
so I think I can move closer.
Predators are often at risk when they tackle much larger prey,
and the Protoceratops fought back.
There's a Velociraptor over there with a broken arm.
Must have been snapped by the Protoceratops' beak.
I've pushed this far enough now.
It's dangerous here in this dense forest, and they may start paying attention to me.
It's time to go.
It was getting late and I needed to find a safe place to set up camp.
(SHRILL SQUAWKING)
The forest was teeming with strange animals, but not all as exotic as dinosaurs.
There we are. A really familiar face.
Scorpions were around 200 million years before the first dinosaur,
and, of course, they're still around in the 21st century,
so they've been on the Earth for a staggering 400 million years.
I've got one of these as a pet at home,
so I'm gonna keep this one...as a little reminder.
Come on, then.
As darkness closed in, I began to feel just a little anxious.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere else to go but my tent.
This was certainly not gonna be a quiet night.
(CAMERAMAN) Nigel!
(SCREECHES)
Thank goodness for that. I've seen these in my book.
They're called Mononykus. They can't be more than about six feet long,
and they feed mainly on insects, so they shouldn't be after me.
Instead, I decided to go after them and catch my first dinosaur.
(CAMERAMAN) Over there!
They're flippin' fast!
I've got one at last!
He's struggling a bit. Calm down. Calm down.
He may be an insect-eater, but there are some razor-sharp teeth in there.
I've got my fingers at the base of the jaw, just like with a venomous snake. If I...
There. That should calm him down. Keep the eyes covered.
This is what I caught him for. As near as damn it, feathers.
You think reptiles have all got scales. Maybe these are just raggedy scales.
You can see why paleontologists think these theropod dinosaurs -
that's the carnivorous line - why they're in the same lineage as birds.
This is like a giant chicken or something.
It was an amazing moment - wrestling with a dinosaur -
but I knew I wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
Away you go!
Ah, look at that. I either spiked myself or I stupidly put my finger on one of those teeth.
The next morning, I checked on my scorpion.
(CAMERAMAN) They've eaten it, Nigel.
Go on!
There's lots of dinosaur distractions,
but I've seen no evidence at all of the Giant Claw.
Perhaps this habitat's just too dense.
Perhaps there's not enough herbivores for it to prey on.
If I can get through there,
maybe there's some more open habitat on the other side.
I came out of the dense forest to this scrubbier habitat,
and I've found our first real clue.
I think this is the nest of the Giant Claw.
It's been broken into. There are some monitor lizards here.
Monitors in Africa break into crocodile nests. Perhaps that happened here.
But look at what I've found inside.
This must be the embryo of Therizinosaurus, the Giant Claw.
Even as a little baby inside the shell,
you can see the claws there at the front of the body.
But if this is a nest site, it's really curious,
because look...at this.
This is herbivore dung. It's not carnivore dung. Look inside.
There's pine needles, bits of cycad.
It smells like a herbivore,
and I can't understand why this is all scattered around here,
around the nest site of the Giant Claw,
which must be a predator.
I'd been tracking for two days, yet I wasn't any nearer to understanding my quarry.
There was nothing else but to continue my search through this extraordinary land.
(SQUAWKING)
(SQUEALING)
This is dangerous!
There is a huge predator over there.
It must be a Tarbosaurus.
That's the Asian cousin of Tyrannosaurus rex.
On safari, you wanna see the top predator, but I'm not keen on this.
This is so huge - 40 feet long.
The wind's blowing towards us, and that's good.
He's coming towards us. He may have good hearing. Turn that off, quick!
A Tarbosaurus. Scary, but a thrill.
It's the biggest carnivore around here because they stand tall, stand vertically.
Tiny limbs at the front help balance that massive head
with that huge skull and those massive teeth
for making devastating bites into prey and pulling out chunks of flesh.
I am never gonna forget that view!
It was time to change my tactics.
Across the scrubland were several large freshwater lakes.
Instead of searching for Claws, I'd wait for him to come to me.
This is beautiful.
On any safari, you look for the waterhole. They're a magnet for animals.
And on a dinosaur safari, it's no different.
And this must be the best chance for me to find evidence of the Giant Claw.
The thing about waterholes being a magnet for wildlife,
the predators know that, too.
In Africa, lions wait for zebras coming to drink.
This could be a Tarbosaurus, coming down waiting for larger prey.
So we have really got to watch our step here.
Look what I've found! A claw! I think it's a Therizinosaurus.
And there is a whole skeleton.
Let's see what else I can find. Let's have a look.
There we go.
It's pretty heavy.
Look at the size of it!
I'm six foot two, and it actually dwarfs me,
and this is just the front leg.
To be truthful, I'm a little nervous about meeting a creature with claws like this.
They must be for disembowelling prey.
But the more I get closer to the mystery of Therizinosaurus, the more I get confused.
Look at these. I found these amongst the bones.
They're not the teeth of a meat-eater. They're leaf-shaped and serrated.
That suggests they're designed for slicing through vegetation.
Earlier, when I found the nest, there was also that herbivorous dung there,
so I just don't know what's going on with this amazing creature.
Velociraptors, and they're paying attention to us.
(CAMERAMAN) Nigel!
(CAMERAMAN) Come on! They're gaining!
I've got an idea...which may work.
This is a bicycle horn I brought from home. Let's see what happens.
(HONKS)
Just as I thought. Velociraptors, like most animals, don't like loud noises.
Are you OK? Do you want a hand with yours?
(HORN HONKS)
Can you hear that? There's a terrific kerfuffle, and I think it's by the lake.
(BELLOWING AND ROARING)
Shh!
It's a Tarbosaurus. Get down!
(GROWLS)
(ROARS)
What...is that?
I don't believe it.
At last. There's Claws! Therizinosaurus.
I could never have even imagined anything like that.
Tiny head and those great claws at the front.
That is the oddest of dinosaurs!
The Tarbosaurus, he's noticed too.
Normally, big predators avoid each other,
but it looks like there could be a clash,
and we'd better get undercover.
(SCREECHES)
(ROARS)
(SCREECHES)
It was an awesome fight, but Tarbosaurus eventually backed down,
and I got a chance to sneak out and observe the Therizinosaurus.
I was in for a surprise. A whole herd of them appeared from the forest
and started browsing on the trees.
Now everything adds up - those teeth, they were the teeth of a herbivore,
the dung crammed with plant vegetation at the nest site.
Therizinosaurus, it's a plant-eater, not a predator.
Look at them now. They're using those giant claws to drag leaves towards their mouths.
Those great long necks reaching up for vegetation, and those pot bellies -
those are great fermentation chambers for the tons of vegetation they have to eat.
I wanna get really close but, of course, herbivores of this size, they're not safe.
But, hopefully, because of my smell - I smell like a mammal - I won't be attacked.
The only mammals around at this time are really small, rat-like mammals,
so they shouldn't be threatened by me.
At least, that was the theory.
As far as I could see, those huge claws weren't for killing things,
although they clearly discouraged that huge Tarbosaurus.
In fact, these seemed quite gentle creatures, and this gave me an idea,
something that would bring my quest for the Giant Claw to a natural end.
They seem completely oblivious, even if I speak quite loudly,
so I'm gonna go even closer and see if I can touch one.