{172}{316}For a hundred and sixty million years|the dinosaurs ruled this world. {317}{402}While living in their shadows was a|group of animals {392}{467}which couldn't have been more different. {459}{602}These were our ancestors, small furry|creatures called mammals, {583}{660}clinging to safety wherever they could. {779}{862}But the mammal's time would come. {869}{972}Sixty-five million years ago volcanic|activity started to {959}{1020}poison the atmosphere. {1055}{1175}The last dinosaurs were already|living on a sick planet {1165}{1306}when their nemesis arrived - from space. {1330}{1470}A meteor ten kilometres wide slammed|into earth to mark the end of {1455}{1522}the reign of dinosaurs. {1892}{1982}This series is about what happened next. {2071}{2204}The survivors of the extinction all had|one thing in common -- their size. {2185}{2287}Nearly every animal over ten kilograms|had been wiped out leaving {2274}{2394}a world of little creatures,|among them were the mammals. {2389}{2484}In Walking With Beasts you will witness|how mammals left behind these small {2469}{2587}beginnings and took over the world. {2717}{2800}In the course of twenty million years|mammals got more and more {2790}{2959}successful until they were the biggest,|fiercest and most spectacular {2936}{2977}animals on the planet. {3007}{3109}Whatever the climate, whatever the|habitat mammals made it their own. {3107}{3210}Their great strength was|their ability to adapt. {3239}{3320}They grew to gigantic sizes. {3339}{3491}They evolved into powerful killers|like the famous sabre-toothed cats. {3484}{3561}And they even laid claim to the oceans. {3619}{3734}Then around four million years ago|came mankind's own origins {3718}{3858}in a type of ape that came down|from the trees and walked upright. {3860}{3955}Our story of this epic time|finishes just thirty thousand years {3943}{4073}Ago with the lce Ages, when our|planet turned cold but our ancestors {4059}{4137}Hunted in the realm|of the mammoth. {5184}{5298}It is a time called the Eocene and|earth has healed itself from {5285}{5374}the ravages of the massive meteor strike. {5363}{5453}Much has changed since|the time of the dinosaurs, {5440}{5552}it is far hotter now and lush|tropical rain forests have sprung {5538}{5661}up on every continent from|the Arctic to Antarctica. {5645}{5791}In this flowering new Eden meteors|no longer present as much of a threat. {6035}{6103}Under the forest canopy thrives|a menagerie of weird and {6096}{6162}wonderful creatures. {6153}{6264}Here the rule of scaly reptiles|is a distant memory. {6248}{6384}The animals that dominate now are|covered in feathers or fur. {6368}{6432}Mammals have adapted well to|the new world and there is {6424}{6478}a staggering variety of them, {6473}{6554}but they are still small|and as before live under {6543}{6633}the shadow of bigger deadlier animals. {7729}{7833}The dinosaurs might be long gone|but they left the world {7818}{7872}a vicious legacy. {7951}{8018}Their direct descendants are the birds. {8013}{8146}For the first and only time in|its history birds rule the earth. {8862}{8958}This is the story of just|twenty-four hours in one part of {8946}{9060}the Eocene's mysterious global|forest in an area that will {9043}{9113}one day become Germany. {9116}{9246}It is dawn and at the base of a|fig tree one animal has already {9228}{9304}Had its first brush with death. {9469}{9535}This is a female Leptictidium. {9527}{9620}She is a metre long and a common|sight in the forest of fifty {9608}{9653}million years ago. {9658}{9741}Her kind have survived virtually|unchanged since the time {9729}{9777}of the dinosaurs. {9775}{9856}Life though is scarcely|any easier now. {9846}{9941}This is still a perilous world|where she must live fast and {9930}{9994}will probably die young. {10046}{10135}A typical mammal, she looks after|her offspring until they are old {10122}{10179}Enough to fend for themselves. {10171}{10272}But with so many predators about|today is a bad day for her litter {10259}{10316}to leave the nest. {10355}{10431}She however has to feed|whatever the risk. {10421}{10515}She only has a short window of|opportunity to do so and {10502}{10579}that window is fading fast. {10633}{10736}The cool early morning is an ideal|time to catch the frogs, {10722}{10790}Iizards and insects she feeds on. {10818}{10942}Being cold-blooded they have yet|to warm up and are still sluggish. {10928}{11050}She however is warm blooded and|fast moving twenty-four hours a day. {11033}{11114}This is one of the mammals|ancient advantages. {11255}{11362}Also to help track down her prey|she has an incredibly acute sense {11348}{11469}of hearing and a distinctive|super-sensitive nose that can twitch {11451}{11544}to locate food among the leaf litter. {11735}{11850}And she is agile enough to catch|even flying insects. {12081}{12190}The best morning hunting lasts|only an hour or two and time {12174}{12201}is ticking. {12198}{12283}She must keep moving to find more. {12333}{12417}At this time in Europe's history|Germany is at the centre of much {12408}{12517}volcanic activity and this little|patch of forest is riddled {12500}{12568}with geo-thermal springs. {12559}{12658}In places these form seething mud pools. {12820}{12937}Oily water, poisonous gas and|earthquakes are ever present threats {12921}{12995}that the animals have|learnt to live with. {12994}{13094}But not every hazard here is|so easy to ignore. {13086}{13206}As the sun gets higher the daylight|creatures are becoming active {13194}{13391}and that brings out the forest's|more menacing side... The birds. {13385}{13493}They are the top predators in|this weird forest. {13501}{13641}This is the largest, Gastornis|a half ton pile of muscle and feathers {13622}{13693}as tall as a grown man {13783}{13885}This is a female and for the last|two months her whole life has {13869}{14017}Revolved around the one egg in her|nest now only hours from hatching. {14020}{14168}She is fiercely territorial and|when another Gastornis gets too close {14180}{14263}she moves to protect her nest. {14303}{14414}Since the great extinction birds|have been a success like mammals. {14400}{14467}But what is more,|they have got big. {14458}{14570}Big enough to take over the role of|the predatory dinosaurs. {14775}{14835}The two giants clash. {14827}{14894}The small mammal escapes. {14895}{14992}There are echoes here of a bygone age. {15478}{15570}The Leptictidium needs a lot of|food for her size. {15558}{15633}Like all mammals this is the price|she pays for {15624}{15689}a warm-blooded metabolism. {15700}{15805}There is usually plenty of prey|down by the lakeside but this morning {15795}{15842}there is only trouble. {15960}{16052}There is a newcomer down by the lake. {16212}{16323}Stirring in the morning's early|rays is an Ambulocetus, {16307}{16419}a bizarre beast that has swum up|the river from the nearby coast. {16509}{16562}He is a predator. {16679}{16762}Her hunting is interrupted|once again, she must move {16752}{16817}on and quickly. {16978}{17100}The three metre long carnivore|waddles awkwardly towards the lake. {17095}{17215}Although his ancestors hunted on|land, Ambulocetus has evolved to {17198}{17267}Be far more at home in the water. {17405}{17504}In fact his descendants will take|this to a greater extreme. {17495}{17596}You are looking at the very|earliest form of whale. {17584}{17699}Ambulocetus in fact means|walking whale. {17711}{17807}With another ten million years of|evolution the limbs will become {17797}{17886}flippers and the tail|will become a hoop. {17875}{17977}His style of swimming already|has the look of a whale or a dolphin. {17962}{18080}His body moves up and down and|not side to side like the fishes {18063}{18139}or crocodiles he shares|the water with. {18178}{18280}He is the most powerful predator|in this lake. {18303}{18455}But he is far from safe here.|There is a hidden peril. {18480}{18599}Huge quantities of volcanic gas|are trapped in the lake bed. {18585}{18670}If enough of this gas were to|escape at one time it would {18660}{18747}suffocate the animals for|miles around. {18790}{18893}The lake is a time bomb. {18914}{19016}But the Ambulocetus thinks|he has found the ideal spot {19002}{19289}for practicing his|deadly speciality... Ambush! {19381}{19505}A Propalaeotherium, an early form|of horse presents the day's {19487}{19567}first good chance of a kill. {20160}{20283}This time the Ambulocetus fails|But the day is long and he will {20265}{20344}try again and again. {20499}{20596}For the Leptictidium the forest|is now too dangerous and the {20582}{20646}time for hunting is over. {20644}{20729}The mother returns to the safety|of her nest. {20718}{20832}She has not done well this morning|and it is vital her next hunting {20816}{20872}trip is more successful. {20902}{21009}She will sleep now until the|evening, when hunting will be easier {20994}{21130}and the low light will help|her evade the sharp-eyed birds. {21303}{21422}Noon, and temperatures climb|above thirty degrees. {21404}{21505}The only movement is the Gastornis|chick starting to break free {21493}{21540}from the egg. {21609}{21718}Not far away the Leptictidium|family are still in their nest. {21706}{21796}But in their sleep they are|totally defenceless against {21785}{21851}one particular predator. {22139}{22346}Giant, carnivorous ants... {22361}{22450}This is the largest species|of ant ever. {22529}{22618}They are on the lookout for|prey - any creature that can't {22607}{22666}get away in time. {22853}{22946}This is the vanguard of an ominous|killing machine. {22940}{23032}Behind them is an army of half|a million others marching {23019}{23121}through the forest|stripping it's prey to the bone. {23235}{23317}The ants have their next victim. {24495}{24594}Mid afternoon and the|Propal...
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