DINOTASIA123

Disclaimer: Contains mature content. “Some things start out big, and some things start out small, very small. But sometimes even the smallest of things, can bring the biggest changes of all…” The sun shined down on a beautiful landscape, a heavily forested area with a few open meadows. The land itself is like something from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World. A seemingly prehistoric world, a paradise spreading as far as the eye can see, untouched by man. Part of this untamed wilderness is a massive section of lowlands surrounded by forests. This landscape is crisscrossed by rivers, marshes and oxbow lakes, and is how to some of the most magnificent creatures on earth. Dinosaurs… In one marshy area, a dragonfly lands on what looks like a tree trunk. But then the tree moves, this is not tree, it’s the leg of a giant dinosaur. A sauropod known as Mamenchisaurus. Its great size and very long neck make this a sight to behold. The sauropod isn’t alone, as this individual is part of a small herd traveling through the marsh in search of food. Their bellowing sounds echo throughout the valley. Meanwhile, the skies of this lost world are ruled by flying giants, the pterosaurs. One such species is Pteranodon, males have an elegant crest for display and have a wingspan that dwarf’s birds like Albatrosses. A flock of Pteranodon soars over the valley, traveling to the far off coast to breed. Back on the ground, other creatures go about their business as usual. A pair of Ankylosaurus, a heavily armored dinosaur, stop at a pond to drink. One individual looks around his surroundings and sniffs the air to make sure he is safe from predators. Meanwhile, a female Ceratosaurus, a predatory dinosaur, searches for a meal by a river. She then manages to snatch a lungfish and begins feeding. In a meadow close to the river, two types of medium sized herbivorous dinosaurs feed. One species is the dome headed Pachycephalosaurus, which has a small group consisting of females, their offspring, younger males, and a dominant buck, who watches over as his herd feeds on low growing plants. The other species is an unusual bird like dinosaur, Gallimimus, a whole flock of them feed alongside the Pachycephalosaurus herd, some individuals of both species go a nearby stream for a drink. In a thicket not far away, a mated pair of small predatory dinosaurs known as Velociraptor, have made a small nest to raise their chicks. The male has been watching over the chicks until his mate returns. The female then comes back, with a dead lizard in her mouth to feed her chicks. After the female puts the meal down to feed her young, the pair nuzzle. But some far away sounds cause both of them to look behind them. They ignore the sound and soon the two Velociraptors curl up for a nap. Back by the riverbank, a massive creature is basking in the sun, it opens its jaws and yawns. This is a Spinosaurus, one of the biggest predatory dinosaurs around. But right now, this old male is simply resting after a good fish meal, nearby, a few smaller male Spinosaurus next to one another. The older male looks at these younger males, but doesn’t do anything about it because they are on the other side of the river and he doesn’t feel like fighting today. Soon a small group of Compsognathus approach the resting giant, and soon, they begin to do something interesting. Several of the Compsognathus jump onto the old Spinosaurus’s body and begin eating the insects that cause the old giant discomfort. So the old Spinosaurus simply is getting some much needed pest removal service, and thus rests up. A bit further away from the river is a huge open meadow. In this meadow, is a small crater like hole in the ground. The hole has various twigs and foliage in it, which is an indicator that this is actually a nest of a mother dinosaur. The nest belongs to a female Parasaurolophus. A type of herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur that is very common. Hadrosaur mothers are very protective of their offspring, even when they haven’t hatched. The area where this mother Parasaur has made her nest is part of a small inner sanctum, where several mother hadrosaurs have come together to lay their eggs. The mother Parasaur stands up on her two hind legs and has a look around. She sees in the distance, a flock of birds flying out of the nearby forest. Realizing that there probably isn’t much of a threat, the mother Parasaur goes back to tending to her nest. As she is doing this, a baby Corythosaurus comes in and investigates the nest of eggs curiously. However he is driven off by the mother Parasaur. The young Corythosaur then frolics around the rest of the nesting grounds, but occasionally looks back at his own parents, who are resting nearby. He then goes down to a large lake, where numerous species have converged to drink. Species like Parasaurolophus and Corythosaurus are seen here, as is a large herd of Triceratops, three horned giants that can be very territorial. Some young males in the herd play fight, which annoys some of the females, and also the leader of the herd, a large, scarred old bull. The younger males then stop their duel when the older bull puts them both in their place and chases them. Also at the lake, are species like Pachycephalosaurus, Gallimimus and Ankylosaurus, which congregate at the edge of the forest. These are accompanied by a small herd of Stegosaurus, which consist of two females and a calf, as well as a male who tries to court one of the females, but doesn’t really succeed. Despite the presence of several large dinosaurs, they are all dwarfed by the biggest animals in the region, a herd of Brachiosaurus. They are colossal, towering over all the other species at the lake, and grazing on the treetops like gigantic giraffes. Some individuals wade in the lake. Meanwhile, the baby Corythosaur continues to play with the other young hadrosaurs in his herd, chasing dragonflies and birds. The male baby Corythosaur then sneaks off from his playmates and finds himself in the forest. The baby Corythosaur looks around and begins to explore his surroundings. The sounds of the forest are almost haunting to the young dinosaur, and he tries his best not be afraid, but deep down, he is. The baby Corythosaur then sees a small lizard, a Draco Volans, glide down from the forest canopy, and land on what appears to be a tree trunk. The young dinosaur, curious to the strange lizard, walks carefully towards where the lizard landed, only to hear a heavy breathing sound. He then sees that something has dripped onto a nearby log, however, it’s not water, it’s saliva. The young hadrosaur then realizes he’s in big danger, moving back very slowly. He then looks up to see something truly frightening, a ferocious creature with a mouth full of 7 inch long teeth. The young dinosaur then runs for his life. He manages to escape into the clearing, running away from the danger as fast as he possibly could. Nearby, the other dinosaurs look towards where the young hadrosaur ran out of the forest, the nesting Parasaurs and Corythosaurs, the flock of Gallimimus, the Stegosaurus herd, the rutting Triceratops, and an Ankylosaurus who was drinking by the lake, a few Brachiosaurs also look in the same direction, but aren’t completely phased. The young hadrosaur runs quickly, just as the danger erupts out the edge of the forest charges out and begins to chase its prey. This is no ordinary hunter however, this is a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an apex predator, and this T.Rex is hungry. As this Rex chases down a potential meal, the young Corythosaur manages to escape to safety of his mother. Meanwhile, the Rex continues to pick out a target, as now a full on stampede of numerous dinosaurs tries to outrun the hunter. However, one young Triceratops bull becomes isolated from the rest of his herd, and is now a target for the Rex. The mighty hunter catches up to the young bull, who has become exhausted from the chase. The tyrannosaur closes in, and bites down hard on the young Triceratops’s neck. The young Triceratops, didn’t stand a chance. It struggled to get up and try to fight back, but the T.Rex was too powerful, and had brought the young animal down. Triumphant over its kill, the mighty hunter bellows out a mighty, booming roar. The Rex then does something strange. Instead of eating the Triceratops where it was killed, the Rex then begins to drag the kill away from the field and into the forest. Back with the hadrosaurs, the nests of the herd are thankfully spared from the chaos of earlier. In fact, many of the eggs are beginning to hatch, including the mother Parasaur from before. The mother Parasaur then begins to attend to her newly hatched chicks, and another Parasaur, her mate and father to her hatchlings, comes back from foraging and nuzzles her. Meanwhile, the Tyrannosaurus has brought the dead Triceratops to a small clearing not far from the lake, but this Rex, is not alone. The Rex cautiously looks around and then leans its head down to the ground, as several baby Tyrannosaurs circle around it. This Tyrannosaurus wasn’t just hunting for itself, this T.Rex is actually a mother to several precocious chicks. Soon another Tyrannosaurus comes along and joins the female and her chicks to feed, this Tyrannosaurus is actually her own mate, who had been watching over the chicks while she was out hunting. The family of Tyrannosaurs then begins feeding together, as the sun begins to set. Out at sea, something interesting is occurring, a storm begins to form, thunder and lightning crash and soon it begins to rain. However, one object still pushes through, and it’s no creature. It’s an airplane, and on this plane, a young woman looks out at the storm, sighs and then goes to sleep. Little does this woman realize, that her life is about to change… To be continued…