- 5/26/2025
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00:00Over 66 million years ago, our world was ruled.
00:30By dinosaurs.
00:39The largest animals that have ever walked the earth.
00:50Today, dinosaur experts across the globe are uncovering the bones they left behind.
01:00Allowing us to imagine how these creatures may have lived.
01:13So that we can tell their stories.
01:17And they...
01:21Can walk again.
01:29DINOSAURS
01:47Western Canada.
01:52Today, a majestic landscape of snow-capped peaks.
01:56Turquoise lakes.
02:02And mighty rivers.
02:06That erode the ancient bedrock.
02:10The perfect conditions for dinosaur hunting.
02:19Here, on the banks of Red Deer River.
02:22Paleontologists from the University of Alberta.
02:27Are unearthing the final resting place of a super-predator.
02:34Oh wow.
02:36Yeah, that's really nice.
02:38Looks like a toad claw.
02:40Wonderful find.
02:42Albertosaurus.
02:44T-Rex's deadly cousin.
02:46These are the remains of a teenager.
02:51The team calls her Rose.
02:55Holy cow.
02:57It keeps going.
03:00Inspired by their discoveries.
03:07We can imagine her story.
03:17North America
03:26In the late Cretaceous.
03:28North America is split in two.
03:31By a vast inland sea.
03:37On its western shores.
03:39A sprawling expanse of dense forests.
03:42And rugged coastlines.
03:47Laramidia.
03:51A land in crisis.
03:55Atmospheric changes have forced temperatures down by two degrees.
04:02A seemingly small change.
04:04But enough to push the delicate ecosystem out of balance.
04:17Food is scarce.
04:22Even for an apex predator.
04:31Standing two and a half meters tall.
04:34And weighing in at one ton.
04:38This is Rose.
04:42The Albertosaurus.
04:47It's been a week since she last ate.
04:55But in her sights.
04:58An Orinoceratops.
05:01An older cousin of Triceratops.
05:09A chance for Rose to satisfy her hunger.
05:17Triceratops
05:25Rose might just be the fastest land predator on the planet.
05:32Sprinting at up to 30 miles an hour.
05:47Triceratops
05:54But Rose has miscalculated.
05:59At two tons, her target is twice her weight.
06:04With horns almost a meter long.
06:12Rose is starving.
06:17But the risk of injury is just too great.
06:25Dinner will have to wait.
06:4671 million years later.
06:49This team of paleontologists.
06:55Led by Mark Powers.
06:58Is uncovering Rose's secrets.
07:04Piece by piece.
07:10Each day, more remains emerge from the ground.
07:16Yep, yep, clean it off.
07:18There it is!
07:21Today's discovery.
07:23Rose's leg bones.
07:25Oh, that's so cool.
07:32Each fossil is exposed and restored.
07:36Allowing the team to delve deeper.
07:38Into the story of this long lost super predator.
07:43This is looking really good.
07:45Mark works with limb specialist Christiana Garros.
07:49To examine the bones from Rose's shin.
07:53The tibia is not actually that huge.
07:56Compared to some of the bigger ones I've seen at least.
07:59Albertosaurus is an older relative of Tyrannosaurus rex.
08:04About 79 centimetres.
08:06OK.
08:07Something like that.
08:08But it's becoming clear.
08:09She was a very different beast to her more famous cousin.
08:12So, long limbs, but the ones of T-Rex are quite a bit bulkier, aren't they?
08:17Absolutely.
08:18Rose kind of really embodies what Albertosaurus is.
08:21It's a very legs-y animal.
08:22Especially compared to things like T-Rex.
08:24Which was incredibly huge, incredibly chunky.
08:27Quick, fast, dangerous.
08:29Still has powerful jaws.
08:31Maybe the optimal amount of scary for my taste.
08:34That's for sure.
08:35Absolutely.
08:37But speed was far from the only weapon in the Albertosaurus arsenal.
08:43T-Rex
08:49More bones are coming out of the ground.
08:52Oh, that's bone.
08:54But these don't belong to Rose.
08:56It does look like a bone from one of the digits.
08:59That's definitely Albertosaurus, right?
09:01Yeah, absolutely.
09:02And each bone seems to come from a different sized Albertosaurus.
09:06This is a huge one.
09:13Dinosaur hunters have discovered as many as 26 individuals buried here.
09:21To try and say any piece belongs to any one individual is kind of tough to do.
09:24Because there were so many of them.
09:28It was clearly a mass grave of Albertosaurus,
09:30where many individuals died together in this spot.
09:35And if they died together,
09:39they likely lived together too.
09:43T-Rex
10:06In the cave Rose calls home.
10:10She's far from alone.
10:25Albertosaurus are social animals.
10:32They live and hunt together,
10:35forming strong, intimate bonds.
10:40T-Rex
10:49Rose has paired with this male Albertosaurus the same age.
10:58A source of comfort
11:01in times of scarcity.
11:04It's been over a week since the Albertosaurus last made a kill.
11:12And starvation isn't the only threat hanging over Rose.
11:26The matriarch.
11:34Wracked with intense hunger,
11:36she couldn't turn on her own.
11:46And Rose is bottom of the pecking order.
12:04If she hopes to survive,
12:06she'll have to prove herself
12:08when it matters most.
12:18It's time to go hunting.
12:33T-Rex
12:38Ready? Let's go.
12:47Mark's teamed up with dinosaur anatomy specialist Henry Sharp.
12:57They're venturing further up Red Deer River
13:00on the hunt for more giants.
13:04There's some wonderful prospecting rocks up there.
13:21They reach an ancient river system
13:23dating from the same time period as Rose.
13:27And the first clue...
13:29We've got a rib here.
13:31..to what might have fed the Albertosaurus pack.
13:34Given its cross-section and its size,
13:36maybe Edmontosaurus?
13:38I'd say Edmontosaurus, yeah.
13:42Edmontosaurus,
13:44a plant-eating duck-billed dinosaur.
13:50An Edmontosaurus can get up to 30 feet long.
13:53Edmontosaurus can get up to 30 feet long.
13:5610 metres here.
13:57Jeez.
13:58Yeah.
13:59These things were huge.
14:04But a single Edmontosaurus
14:06wouldn't feed a hungry pack of Albertosaurus for long.
14:13Holy cow.
14:17Oh, my God.
14:19At the top of an escarpment...
14:22Look at the size of these honkers.
14:25..more fossils.
14:27Not bone,
14:29but footprints.
14:32You can see they've got the big front toe
14:35and the two toes on the side.
14:37It's much wider than it is long,
14:39which is classic Edmontosaurus, duck-billed dinosaur.
14:45From the pattern of these prints,
14:47it looks as though these trackways
14:49were made by a single creature.
14:52Probably got about 16, 17 tracks exposed here.
14:57Today, there are just a few footprints.
15:00But when they were created,
15:02there would have been many, many more.
15:05We have lots of footprints from various different individuals,
15:09various different ages, all congregating together,
15:12so they definitely moved in herds, lived in herds.
15:15Yeah.
15:16You imagine, like, herds of wildebeests,
15:18and these animals were the size of one to two elephants.
15:23These fossilised footsteps suggest this corner of Canada
15:27once played host...
15:33..to one of the most remarkable sights in Earth's history.
15:47A migrating Edmontosaurus herd.
15:57Thousands of plant-eating dinosaurs,
16:00moving as one.
16:09But an individual adult Edmontosaurus
16:12can be three times the weight of even the largest Albertosaurus.
16:16Working as a pack is the only way to take down such colossal prey.
16:47EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
16:59Higher ground will provide the perfect vantage point...
17:04..to mount an attack.
17:06EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
17:12At this time of year, this area should be teeming with Edmontosaurus.
17:19EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
17:26But the herds are nowhere to be seen.
17:33EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
17:37EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
17:50This is a time of intense geological upheaval.
17:59As the continents move...
18:02..the land buckles and splits.
18:09Lava and ash engulf the landscape...
18:25..forcing this Edmontosaurus herd
18:28to take a much longer route north this year.
18:43They're still many miles away from the starving Albertosaurus.
18:53EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
18:59For the pack, the delay spells disaster.
19:05EDMONTOSAURUS GROWLS
19:08But on the horizon...
19:12..Rose spots an opportunity.
19:29From the wind-carved rocks by Rose's dig site,
19:32paleontologist Colton Coppock has made an important discovery.
19:41Yeah.
19:43There's a bit of the shaft.
19:45Tiny fragments of finger bone
19:47belonging to one of the most bizarre creatures of the Cretaceous.
19:51And here's the condyle.
19:53What?
19:54It looks like it might be from a digit.
19:56There's a condyle? Yeah.
19:58Including a rare condyle, part of the knuckle joint.
20:02Very nice.
20:03I'm afraid to touch it.
20:05Yeah, it's just so small and so delicate.
20:08Yeah.
20:09You can see the internal structure of the bone right there.
20:13The fossil's paper-thin exterior tells Mark this bone was built for flying.
20:20But this was no bird.
20:22Even in birds, the bone is usually a lot thicker on the outer surface.
20:26It's very strange.
20:29It can only belong to one creature.
20:35A colossal flying reptile...
20:39..with a six-metre wingspan.
20:44Cryodracon, a giant pterosaur.
20:53They feed on an enormous ammonite washed up on the springtime.
21:12The cryodracon would make a fine meal for Rose and her mate.
21:23If they can catch one.
21:41Approaching from downwind and with a pterosaur's attention on their meal...
21:47..the youngsters close in.
21:52The cryodracon is still on the move.
21:55It's not going to be long before it's caught.
21:58It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:01It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:03It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:05It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:07It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:09It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:11It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:13It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:15It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:17It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:19It's not going to be long before it's caught.
22:34At last, a chance to feed.
22:50But the pair's absence from the pack...
22:55..hasn't gone unnoticed.
22:58Life in an Albertosaurus pack was fraught with brutality.
23:05And 71 million years later...
23:08..the pack is still alive.
23:13The pack is still alive.
23:17The pack is still alive.
23:22The pack is still alive.
23:27This violence is still written in the bones.
23:33Park and anatomist Dr Greg Funston...
23:36..examined the jawbones of one of the largest Albertosaurus ever discovered.
23:42We do actually get a few scars along here and they're kind of evenly spaced.
23:46Some are raised and some are deep gouges.
23:49So could these be bite marks?
23:52An astonishing 65% of Albertosaurus skulls found here...
23:56..have teeth marks scratched into the bone itself.
24:02Near your finger there's a little gouge in that one too.
24:06Look at that.
24:07That's deep.
24:08Yeah.
24:09It actually looks like the tooth came down from over the top.
24:12It would have required a tremendous amount of force from this diving angle...
24:16..to actually remove that piece of bone.
24:19Only another Albertosaurus could inflict this injury.
24:26The biggest predator in its ecosystem...
24:28..and it's still getting beaten up day to day.
24:32They're maybe tussling for food...
24:34..like you see on the savannahs today where lions will eat in a certain order.
24:39You got two hungry Albertosaurus.
24:41One of them is going to want to eat first.
24:44Only one can.
24:56As pack leader...
25:20..the matriarch is eyeing up the prey.
25:26The youngsters kill.
25:33Rose is determined to defend her prize.
25:43But the matriarch...
25:45..leaves her in no doubt who's in charge.
25:57Rose.
26:17Hungry and badly wounded...
26:20..Rose has learnt a painful lesson.
26:27She'll have to play by the rules...
26:29..if she wants to survive.
26:40But the evidence coming out of the ground...
26:43..suggests not all of the Albertosaurus behaviour was violent.
26:48Mark and Henry examine one of the most intriguing discoveries.
26:54Rose's tiny fossilised arm bones.
26:59We've got the upper arm here and the forearm down there.
27:03And up here, this is the hand, right?
27:06This is like the palm of the hand.
27:09Nobody's quite sure what Albertosaurus used its minuscule arms for.
27:13But the strange positioning has given Mark an idea.
27:17It's quite possible the resting position of the arm
27:19was to have a more flared finger sticking outwards
27:23rather than down by the side like a chicken wing.
27:26So if this was my arm, it would kind of be flared out like that?
27:29Yeah, you'd be kind of doing one of these things.
27:31Almost jazz hands.
27:33Yeah, exactly.
27:35So Albertosaurus is clearly using its arms for something.
27:38I mean, modern birds have a wide variety of arms.
27:41Modern birds have a wide variety of mating displays and behaviours.
27:45Yeah.
27:47Mark believes these seemingly useless arms
27:50may have been vital tools for bonding.
27:53If you're going to live in a group,
27:55you've got to have ways of communicating with one another
27:57that go beyond just, you know, grunting and staring at each other.
28:00So maybe they're using their hands side by side on the flank,
28:03reassuring one another.
28:05Telling each other it's going to be OK, it's fine.
28:07A morale boost. Yeah, exactly.
28:41Starving.
28:43Shaken and badly wounded.
28:47Rose needs comfort.
29:01The young Albertosaurus
29:03take time out together
29:06to groom.
29:12A soothing ritual
29:20that strengthens their bond.
29:42As a new day dawns,
29:45the pack's luck
29:47may be about to change.
30:12The Edmontosaurus
30:14have finally made it
30:16to their summer feeding ground.
30:31Not a moment too soon
30:33for the starving Albertosaurus.
30:41And despite their young age,
30:43Rose, her mate
30:45and the other youngsters
30:47will play a crucial role in the hunt.
30:52The fate of the whole pack
30:54depends on them.
31:07Close to Rose's dig site,
31:09a remarkable
31:11new fossil is emerging.
31:15Wow.
31:20Very cool.
31:25An Edmontosaurus jawbone.
31:27Maybe this is the denture going in here.
31:29That could be the back part, yeah.
31:32But this fossil
31:34holds another secret.
31:36What have we got up here?
31:39That looks like enamel.
31:42Look here.
31:44Serrations.
31:46That's incredible.
31:49This is no Edmontosaurus tooth.
31:53This came
31:55from a meat eater.
31:57Albertosaurus tooth.
32:00I think you're right.
32:02And since we don't have much of the root,
32:04it was probably lost during feeding.
32:07That is an awesome find.
32:08It's clear evidence
32:10that the Albertosaurus pack
32:12did feast on Edmontosaurus.
32:18But it doesn't help explain
32:20how they brought down such enormous prey
32:23and what role
32:25Rose might have played in the hunt.
32:39These are Rose's metatarsals
32:41from the right leg.
32:43Quite narrow and compact
32:45for an animal
32:47that people usually envision
32:49as being huge, huh?
32:51Mark and Christiana
32:53investigate Rose's foot bones.
32:56They get a heck of a lot bigger.
32:59Comparing them
33:01with the outer foot bones
33:03of a fully grown adult.
33:05While they're similar in length,
33:06they're a very different thickness.
33:08So we can see this one
33:10is only about
33:12three and a half centimeters width.
33:14Whereas if we look at this one,
33:16we have
33:18almost double that.
33:20So it's about six centimeters in width.
33:22Absolutely a beast.
33:24And the same thing can be said
33:26about the other metatarsal.
33:28Rose was almost as tall
33:30as the largest Albertosaurus,
33:32but just half the weight.
33:34She was definitely going to be
33:36faster and quicker
33:38than these big individuals
33:40which probably had
33:42a lot more difficulty
33:44picking up speed.
33:46Large Albertosaurus
33:48were unlikely to reach high speeds
33:50due to their enormous weight.
33:53Meaning Rose
33:55and the other youngsters
33:57must take on
33:59the most dangerous of jobs.
34:07Rose and her mate
34:09split off from the pack.
34:17As the swiftest runners,
34:19they must identify a target
34:25and separate it
34:27from the rest of the pack.
34:37But they're a fraction
34:39of the weight
34:41of the largest Edmontosaurus.
34:55Impulsive
34:57and inexperienced,
34:59Rose's mate
35:01blindly charges
35:03into the herd.
35:05Trying to take down
35:07one of these enormous creatures alone.
35:35Rose has lost
35:37her closest companion.
35:48And each failed hunt
35:50brings her
35:52to the brink
35:54of death.
35:56Rose
35:58has lost
36:00her closest companion.
36:01And each failed hunt
36:03brings her
36:05and the rest of the pack
36:07closer to starvation.
36:09But Albertosaurus
36:11were successful
36:13even in times of adversity.
36:16They were the dominant
36:18predator of the pack.
36:20And the most dangerous
36:22of the pack.
36:24The most dangerous
36:26of the pack.
36:28The most dangerous
36:30of the pack.
36:32The most dangerous
36:34of the pack.
36:36The most dangerous
36:38predator in western Canada
36:40for over three
36:42million years.
36:45At Rose's dig site
36:47part of the reason
36:49behind their success
36:51might be emerging.
36:57This bit right here?
36:59An unassuming
37:00fragment of bone.
37:02Well it looks interesting.
37:04I thought it was a rock actually.
37:06But it's got a pretty
37:07It looks like Albertosaurus, and this roughened area looks to me like the border of an eye socket.
37:14Is this a part of Rose's skull?
37:20That is part of the skull. It's probably an indication that the skull is in several pieces at least.
37:24So we'll have to keep our eyes out for any loose skull bones that might be scattered about amongst the site.
37:38Whoa! It's Rose's ghost!
37:48The team estimates Rose's skull would have been about two-thirds of a metre long.
37:53Big, but not big enough to take down huge prey like Edmontosaurus.
38:00But maybe she didn't have to.
38:03Mark and Colton re-examine the jaw bones of one of the largest Albertosaurus.
38:08Just look how big and robust this jaw is. It's absolutely crazy.
38:13I think there's quite a few tooth sockets on this side.
38:16It's the final piece of the puzzle, revealing the pack's sophisticated hunting strategy.
38:23Altogether, 68 teeth in the jaw.
38:26Lots of points of entry into the body, so basically instead of using the arms to grapple with prey, it's all about the head.
38:36These jaws were built to apply brutal force.
38:41A bite force that's probably upwards of several tonnes.
38:44There's not much that can protect itself from that once they have their eyes on you.
38:48Yeah.
38:51Rose's speed and the bite force of these bigger animals make for a deadly combination.
39:00You could say that Rose was the runner and this was the muscle.
39:04When Rose got the animals out on their own, a big predator like this probably would have come out and just finished the job.
39:19Roar.
39:21Roar.
39:23Roar.
39:24Roar.
39:29Rose may have lost her mate, but she must now work with the other youngsters to find the easiest target.
39:41But with one failed hunt already, the pressure is on.
39:48Rearing up on their hind legs, the Edmontosaurus are too powerful.
40:15But Rose bides her time, until she spots an older individual.
40:34One that might be weaker than the others.
41:02Rose can't take this Edmontosaurus down alone, but she can steer her prey right towards the
41:14killing jaws of the matriarch.
41:24But there's still fight in this old bull.
41:51Rose has played her part to perfection.
41:56Finally, the pack can feed.
42:09And this time, Rose gets her share of the spoils.
42:39All right, who's ready to jack it?
42:41Coming your way.
42:46The team is eager to get their finds back to the lab, to learn more about this extraordinary creature.
42:54They carefully wrap their discoveries in protective plaster.
42:58Sorry, everyone in the vicinity is going to receive plaster on their clothes and bodies.
43:12They flip them, ready for transport back to base.
43:16Perfect.
43:18Beautiful.
43:19Now it's the third one.
43:28Watch your feet, watch your feet.
43:31But some of Rose's remains are too heavy to carry down the hillside.
43:37So Mark has called in a little help.
43:43Love that sound.
43:47Hold on to your hats.
43:54One false move and all the team's work would be destroyed.
44:03With ropes attached, Rose soars through the air.
44:17But these ancient lands hold one final surprise for the dino hunters.
44:42What do you got there, champ?
44:44Colton has made a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.
44:47What?
44:48Wait, hold on.
44:49What?
44:50A tiny jawbone.
44:51What?
44:52What's this job?
44:53It's an Albertosaurus.
44:54It's so tiny.
44:55This is a baby Albertosaurus.
44:56Oh, that's beautiful.
44:57It's like a baby.
44:58Yeah, probably only about a year old.
45:00I mean, I had to put it down for a sec to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
45:23Just scratch it like a puppy.
45:28It's more evidence of the success of the Albertosaurus.
45:38And maybe the baby belonged to one of the pack females.
45:46Perhaps even Rose herself.
46:01As to how Rose died, we may never know.
46:06Show and tell time.
46:09Causes of death rarely fossilize.
46:12So cute.
46:14That's awesome.
46:15The comparison really pulled it together.
46:19It's not even as long as the tooth.
46:31And though her death is a mystery, now at least we can tell the story of how she may
46:39have lived.
46:46Rose, the young Albertosaurus, earned her rightful place, hunting and surviving with
47:08her pack by her side.
47:32A toddler makes a perilous journey, joining one of the largest dinosaur herds that ever
47:43lived in its fight for survival.
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