Last Day of the Dinosaurs is a 2010 Discovery Channel television documentary about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. It portrays the Alvarez hypothesis as the cause of extinction. The documentary was released on August 28, 2010 and narrated by Bill Mondy.
Production of the film
The dinosaur models created for the 2009 series Clash of the Dinosaurs were reused for this program. The Parasaurolophus model was used for Charonosaurus even though the legs of Charonosaurus were shorter than those of Parasaurolophus. The Deinonychus model was used for Saurornithoides (rather inaccurately, as Saurornithoides was slenderer than Deinonychus), and the Sauroposeidon model was used for Alamosaurus (even though Alamosaurus had different proportions than Sauroposeidon). The same Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and Quetzalcoatlus models were also used. These models were placed upon different backdrops most of the time than those used in Clash of the Dinosaurs.
Plot summary
In the Pacific Northwest, a Quetzalcoatlus is soaring above the valley during a rain storm when it spots an unguarded Tyrannosaurus nest. The pterosaur then flies down and consumes several young babies. Meanwhile, the father Tyrannosaurus is hunting for prey in the forest when his acute sense of smell alerts him to the intruder and runs back to the nest. The pterosaur is forced to flee when the enraged father arrives, trying to take off but its huge wings prevent it from flying in the forest. The T. rex repeatedly lunges and tries to kill it. It finally takes off just as the father bites its foot, though the pterosaur manages to break free of his jaws by pecking at his eye and then flying away. Only one hatchling survives the attack.
A male Triceratops loses a fight for mating rights against another male Triceratops. Two T.rex hear the commotion and close in to attack the loser. Working together, they bring down the Triceratops and eat it together.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, a herd of Alamosaurus are roaming the plains in search of food. A female lays a clutch of eggs as an asteroid enters the atmosphere. The asteroid hits the Earth in Mexico, causing a big explosion and sending debris shooting through the air. The explosion heats the air temperature near the site to hundreds of degrees. Hundreds of Alamosaurus are burned alive. Moments later, burning debris come raining down from the sky, crushing many Alamosaurus. Afterwards, a magnitude 11 earthquake cripples the rest of the herd before the blast wave arrives and finishes off the last of the Alamosaurus. Most of the eggs are destroyed but some survive, buried under the soil.
In what is now Mongolia, a herd of Charonosaurus reside by a watering hole, where the females lay their eggs. A Saurornithoides steals an egg from one of the nests, but is soon confronted by the enraged mother. A second Sauronithoides appears however, which forces the Charonosaurus to flee. The two predators chase their prey and eventually manage to bring her down.
The impact has caused a searing hot ejecta cloud to begin engulfing the planet. As it approaches the pacific northwest, the earthquake from Mexico arrives and begins to decimate the area. A pair of Triceratops flee up the mountain slopes whilst a mated pair of Quetzalcoatlus try to escape their nest by flying away, but are quickly caught in the approaching cloud, which is showering burning debris. The debris burn holes in the Quetzalcoatlus wings, and the male's wings eventually lose their ability to keep him in the air, and he falls to his death, his mate eventually having to land to avoid the same fate. The pair of Triceratops make it up into the mountains, only to be engulfed by the ejecta cloud, which scorches them alive.
The intense heat from the ejecta cloud ignites fires around the world, including in the pacific northwest. This causes a firestorm to form that reaches speeds of 9mph. All large dinosaurs, including a feeding Tyrannosaurus, a group of Triceratops and an Ankylosaurus are forced to flee whilst smaller animals hide underground. The female Quetzalcoatlus, who was mourning her mate, is also forced to fly away as the firestorm consumes the forest.