Deadly 60 comes to Africa

Bakker keeps an eye out for potential threats while Steve and his camera crew do their own thing. He is well aware of the large theropod predators the reside in the reserve; some are known killers of men. So far, nothing has appeared just yet but the heat of the day will surely draw in dinosaurs along with other animals.

Steve kept his gaze on the watering hole, while the cameramen stay on their spots, not budging a single muscle, as they wait patiently for a dinosaur to come.

Thirty minutes soon passes the group by and not a single dinosaur has come down for a drink just yet. But Bakker knows that the African heat will draw something in soon enough with patience.

Steve wiped his forehead with a towel he was given: "So far, it's been 30 minutes, and still we see no dinosaurs. However, it's pretty hot out here and mr Bakker, just like I, knows that they will come to quench their thirst."

But then, a small trio of Zuniceratops emerge from the tall grass a few feet away from the watering hole. "Steve, we have some dinosaurs" whispers Bakker. These small ceratopsian dinosaurs are commonly found among the tall grasslands of the reserve; they are able to defend themselves from smaller predators, but their very vulnerable to larger theropods.

Steve twitched when Robert notified him of their first dinosaurs. He turned over to see what was approaching. Even though the Zuniceratops weren't remarkably deadly, seeing them was truly amazing!
"Oh my God!" Steve said quite excitedly: "Dinosaurs! There are dinosaurs over there! Though they don't look very deadly, it's still amazing to see them. They are absolutely gorgeous... Which species are they, Mr Bakker?"

"This is Zuniceratops, the smallest ceratopsian dinosaur of the reserve and a relative to the more famous Triceratops" says Bakker. "Now these animals are very shy and nervous, so we must be very quiet if we want to see any natural behavior".

Steve listened to what Robert told them to do. At first, the dinosaur did reminisce him of Triceratops, but so small and with no nasal horn - it couldn't be. The camera crew filmed on, not making any kind of noise, not to scare them, as Bakker instructed them.

The Zuniceratops group begin to head down to the watering hole for a drink. The heat can zap energy out of an animal of every size. Creatures on the reserve depend on watering holes and key rivers for the essential water they need. Some keep a lookout while the others get their fill of water, a good strategy when there are predators of much larger proportions than the Zuniceratops themselves.

Steve stood back and observed the Zuniceratops drinking from the watering hole, and watched their strategy of protection. Steve was amazed, and took a look at the stake-out cameras, to make sure they are filming everything. For the Deadly 60 fans, and the rest of the world, this episode will be a major one.

As Bakker watches the dinosaurs and as the Zuniceratops drink from the watering hole, a roar erupts through the air...its not far from the group. It causes the Zuniceratops to flee and they quickly disappear into the tall savanna grass.

Steve twitched from this sudden, loud sound that echoed in the savanna! Right away, he knew what was going on out there - a carnivore was out on the prowl, but Steve didn't know which one...
"Oh my God!" he whispered: "Did you guys just hear this?! I think it's a predator."

Then, to the right of the group comes a sub-adult Allosaurus following a small stream that leads up to the watering hole. A common species of theropod dinosaur, his species are usually "Middle ground" in terms of the food chain on the reserve. Armed with sharp foreclaws and serrated teeth, these are no pushovers, but they can't directly compete with the larger species of theropod dinosaurs. He is sorta like a "Jack of all trades" in terms of carnivores.

Steve was once again awestruck to see another magnificent-looking dinosaur, this time a carnivore. And one that he initially recognized. He knew that this was Allosaurus, a Jurassic predator from North America, Europe and Africa, and quite familiar to dinosaur lovers. Steve remembered it from BBCs "Walking With Dinosaurs" special episode "The Ballad of Big Al". He looked into his own camera: "What we have here is Allosaurus - I remember these from the computer-animated show called Walking With Dinosaurs, and look at that thing! Isn't that awesome?"

Bakker remained silent as the Allosaurus approached the watering hole. The theropod nears the water's edge and sniffs the air. Bakker knows that this is a fairly common mid-sized predator and isn't too surprised to see a sub-adult. Younger males and females have to search for unoccupied stretches of land to claim as their own, but they run the risk of intruding on a larger predator in the process.

Steve keeps a close eye on the Allosaurus, observing it's behavior. Simultaneously, the camera crew keep on filming, as they also greatly admired the beauty of this beast.

The sub-adult Allosaurus begins to drink from the watering hole, feeling that the coast is clear. Bakker remains quiet and watches along with Steve and his crew. Making any form of noise could put the whole team in jeopardy and unlike last time with Nigel Marvin, there would be no easy escape for all of them.

As the group watch the sub adult Allosaurus drink from the watering hole, they began to feel light treors in the ground. Something else was heading for the watering hole. Another predator.....& this one....was larger than the Allosaurus!

Steve also knows this. He knows that he should not make any noise at all. He could either be quiet or dead. He turns to his camera and whispers: "One of the key aspects of observing wild animals, especially predators is to make as little noise as possible. If they hear you, they will either kill you to eat you, or if they see you as territorial competition."

Bakker is aware of what made the previous roar and he felt excited but at the same time afraid. "Steve" he whispers. "Stay very still and very quiet".

Soon enough, the large theropod emerges into view. It was the rarest dinosaur in the reserve & in Bakker's own words, he's the "phantom" of the reserve, as he rarelly showss his face at all. For this was a large male Torvosaurus that was jet black all over. & his name- was Pitch Black! The Torvosaur walks toward the Allosaur & gives out a loud roar at him to scare him away from the watering whole!

Steve jerked his head and slightly covered his ears with his hands as he heard this loud roar! He looked over and saw the large, black dinosaur, not saying a word! He knew right on that there would be a clash between these two giants of the Jurassic! The camera crew, however, keep rolling.

Surprised by this massive opponent, the young Allosaurus is unable to turn tail and run. Despite the massive theropod's size and power advantage, he must stand his ground. Claws and jaws ready, he goes on the defensive.

Pitch Black sees that the young Allosaur wasn't going to back away easilly. He growled & walked forward more & continued to roar to see if he could scare the smaller predator away easier. If not, he might have to resort to violence & fight the young predator!

Steve then whispered to Bakker: "Which species is the big black one? Are they going to fight?" He was curious, because he had never seen this kind of dinosaur. He knew it couldn't be Tyrannosaurus because of it's three-fingered arms and long skull, that seemed even longer than T-Rex's!