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Episode 1

The series following on from Walking with Dinosaurs focuses on the Late Eocene period 36 million years ago, when mammals have prospered and are now the largest creatures.

49 million years ago, and Earth has fully recovered from the dinosaur extinction and is covered in a mysterious forest. This is a time that the world has almost forgotten - Germany was a hot sweaty jungle, birds ruled the earth and preyed on miniature horses and whales walked on land.

Moving on to the Late Eocene period 36 million years ago and mammals have prospered and are now the largest creatures on land and sea. This is an era of animals like andrewsarchus, the biggest mammal carnivore ever to walk on land, and the brontotheres, small-brained herbivores. It is in the sea, however, that the most monstrous mammals of all can be found. We follow the fate of a female basilosaurus, a huge serpent-like early whale, but nothing like the gentle filter feeding whales of the 21st century. Four times the length of the great white shark, with jaws to match, she is every inch a killer.

1 hour

Last on

Fri 4 Jun 2010 20:00

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Credits

Role Contributor
Narrator Kenneth Branagh
Producer Nigel Paterson
Director Nigel Paterson

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