All language subtitles for 01_The Ballad of Big Al

All do we have left today from
mighty dinosaurs are their fossils.

Stone copies of long dead bones.

It is easy to forget that these
were once living animals.

Surviving in a world of
unimaginable violence.

But if you know what you are looking for
the signs and scars of life are clear.

As in this remarkable Allosaurus skeleton
in Wyoming nicknamed... Big Al.

By studying his bones, comparing 'em with
other fossils and modern animals

there is just enough evidence
to raise the ghost of Big Al

from its 145 million year old grave.

Bit by bit a story of how he might
have lived, can be pieced together.

It's a story that started like
all dinosaurs... with an egg.

Buried in a pile of jurassic sand
is a clutch of eggs.

It is the end of the dry season
and there are signs of life.

This tiny little dinosaur

is facing the first of life's challenges -
escaping his egg chamber.

He calls out for help.

A huge Carnivorous Allosaurus hears

the squeak of hatchlings
and approaches the nest.

They are at her mercy...
fortunately

this is their mother.

Smell is important to Allosaurus and
from the moment mother

and hatchling smell each other.

They form a bond that is crucial
for the hatchling's early survival.

Gently she uses her
huge claws to free them.

This is Big Al's first day.

For now he can rely on
his mother's protection

but within weeks he will have to
learn to stand on his own two feet.

In seven short years he could become
a gigantic predator like his mother.

But the odds on him
surviving that long are low.

Al has been born into
a world dominated by giants.

For a carnivore no
meal comes easy here.

Some prey like the 30 ton Apatosaurus
are giant fortresses of flesh

too large to attack even
by fully grown Allosaurus.

Many smaller species rely
on lightning fast speed

while others, like Stegosaurus,
stand and fight with lethal spines.

It is a daunting prospect
for this brood of tiny killers.

They will have to learn very fast

and fighting among themselves
is a good way to start.

However, at this size
they are just as

likely to be the hunted
as the hunters.

A pair of predatory Ornitholestes
watch the brood, waiting for their chance.

The mother Allosaurus is
50 times their weight

so they will not venture too
while she is present.

However, the smell of all these new hatchlings
will soon attract other larger predators.

So eventually the mother decides
it is time to lead her unruly brood away.

Al's new home is a vast floodplain
which will one day become

the badlands of Wyoming. But for now
it is covered in lush conifer forest.

Dinosaurs share this world
with a host of other animals

including amphibians and insects.

It is the insects that the infant

Allosaurus are after.

Born with sharp little teeth,
Al is ready for his first meal.

But even small prey
require skill to catch.

They are either liable to fly away
or worst still... stand and fight.

The hatchlings all
have a lot to learn.

That evening the mother abandons her brood
while she hunts for food for herself.

She is not the only one on the prowl tonight
the hatchlings are being watched by another predator.

Mother returns to her station
having lost one hatchling.

The victim was not Al
but ironically

the attacker is a year old Allosaurus.

These youngsters only have a few weeks

of protection before the mothers
maternal instincts wears off.

And she too will view them
as fast food.

Al now hunts alone.

Measuring almost 3 meters
insects are no longer on the menu.

He is looking for dinosaur flesh.

There is a wide choice in this
conifer and cycad forest.

A flock of small Othnielia look ideal
but there's a big problem.

A heavily armoured Stegosaurus is working
its way through a cycad stand nearby.

The Othnielia feed of the smashed
cycads he leaves behind.

This means they are sticking
very close to him.

Too close for a small predator
to get in between and attack.

A mother Ornitholestes attending her
nestmand may prove more promising.

But a small Allosaurus is about to find out
he is no match for an overprotected mother.

Nearby a group of Dryosaurus
offers Al one more chance.

Al cannot possibly run down such swift prey.

He needs to learn to ambush.

He has also ended up too
nearly edge of the forest.

A herd of Apatosaurus are crushing through
the outer forest looking for new plantwork.

Not exactly suitable prey for Al.

Back among the trees, Al finally finds
something to take the edge of his hunger.

A nearby stagnant pool offers plenty
of opportunity to scavenge meat

as many dinosaurs have come here to drink
and become stuck in its thick mud.

A recent victim is this Stegosaurus, that lies where
it died of exhaustion trying to drag itself free.

But dead bodies also
attract adult Allosaurus.

This one is large enough to kill Al.

But she would prefer a free meal.

Unfortunately the churned up swamp
left by the Stegosaurus is dangerous.

And one of her kind is already
become chunked next to the carcass.

Ignoring the danger signals the new
Allosaurus approaches the carcass to feed.

By the time she realizes
she is trapped

it is too late.

Al watches from nearby
only escaping the same fate

because he has learned to avoid carry and
the large carnivores that it usually attracts.

By evening two more carcasses lie beside the pond.

This swamp is a natural predator trap

and before the Stegosaurus finally rots away

numerous more carnivores could fall for its attractions.

The bodies are left to those that can
feast here in safety, the flying Terrasaurus.

In the middle of
Al's jurassic world is a

vast salt lake. Its crystalline white crust
formed by the retreat of an ancient sea

occasionally it shores see the
movement of herds of dinosaurs.

These are Diplodocus heading
for a nesting site to the south.

It is a grim journey for
this mighty creatures

and the heat and lack of drinking water

weeds out the weaker animals.
Predators know this.

Predators like Al.

Is now 5 years old and
although he is 9 meters long

is not yet fully grown.

Al is an experienced hunter

but the herd itself presents
a formidable barrier to predators.

Still, Al is not the only predator stalking the herd.

They can all smell that one of the
Diplodocus is in a very bad way.

The predators are getting impatient

they need to break the herd
and isolate the weakling.

The panicked herd has left
the sick Diplodocus far behind.

The Allosaurus gather for the feast.

However, even the sick and exhausted
Diplodocus is a fearsome adversary.

Built for speed, Al is frequently wounded in such situations

but he cannot afford to let this slow him down.

The competition is too intense.

The other carnivores hold back
and wait for time

and the heat to finish the giant herbivore.

After several hours, heat exhaustion and
his illness bring the Diplodocus to his knees.

The predators finally get their reward.

Although there is enough meat here for weeks
there is an urgency in their feeding.

The smell of blood will soon bring others and
every Allosaurus wants to eat its fill.

Within the hour a gigantic

female Allosaurus appears out of the haze.

She is about twice the weight
of the other Allosaurus and

4 meters longer.
Quickly she establishes her dominance.

When predators get to her size they
rarely have to bring down their own food.

They just scavenge other kills.

Al tries to find a safer place to eat.

The flood plains where Al lives are ruled by the seasons.

Short periods of heavy rain
give way to long months of drought.

It is now the end of the wet season
and with the flood water still receding

it is a time of plenty for the local dinosaurs.

For many it is also
a time for mating.

This pair of Stegosaurus are about to try
what is for them a very complex process.

Al is now 6 years old

and as the sign of age, the crests
over his eyes are now reddening.

Sexual maturity is dependent on his
size and at 10 meters long,

Al is well on the way to being
big enough.

He is however making the locals
at the waterhole nervous

and the smell of blood he brings with
him is enough to interrupt the amorous Stegosaurus.

Away from the lake, Al picks up
a new scent.

Dung left by a female Allosaurus has
an immediate effect on Al

and for the first time in his life,
he issues a mating call.

The female is not far and picks up
the low sounds in his call.

She is much larger than Al.
He will have to be careful.

She is not interested, but Al's
inexperience shows

and he gets... too close.

Al is lucky. Although he had a
torn arm, ripped claw

and smashed ribs, he has escaped
having his throat torn out.

After five months, the dry season
begins to bite.

The sick and the old are being
weeded out.

This is good news for
scavengers.

This carcass is dried hard and the Pterosaur
burrows deeper to find softer meat.

But it is never safe to become too
preoccupied.

Al has managed to recover from
his fight,

although one arm is still not
functioning properly.

The Pterosaur was not much of
a meal and there is little left on the carcass.

He needs fresh meat.

In the blistering heat, he starts
to stalk a flock of swift Dryosaurus.

It will take skill,

but he has done
this hundreds of times before.

The attack is a disaster.

Al has fallen badly.

As he tries to get up,
it's clear he has broken something in his right foot.

With prey getting scarcer and scarcer,
his chances of survival now look remote.

Two months later and the draught has continued
longer than usual.

It has cost Al dear. If anything,
his limp has got worse.

Because of his poor condition,
his body is not healing well.

It appears he broke his middle toe
in the fall and it is now badly infected.

Too weak to hunt, he'll be lucky to
survive much longer.

The drought drags on.

A pair of young Allosaurus are out
hunting for insects amongst the sand dunes.

Instead, they find something much larger.

The emaciated body of big Al.

Al never reached his full size. Instead he died
as a mature adolescent in a dried up riverbed.

Eventually, the rains would arrive

and gently bury his body in silt for
a 145 million years.

The process preserved his skeleton
perfectly.

Including the lumps where his ribs
healed after their break.

The raging infection on his middle toe
and at least

70 other injuries and diseases.

In death, Big Al represents a
frozen moment

in the fast and furious life of a
carnivorous dinosaur.