Nanuqsaurus/Segments

## NanuqsaurusPolar Bear Lizard

* Ice Worlds VI
* North America V

## Presence

* Ice Worlds (Segment 6)
	+ 3 adults (subadults?)
* North America (Segment 5)
	+ 1 adult female
	+ 7 juveniles
* Did Dinosaurs Hunt in Packs?
	+ Stock footage from Ice Worlds

## Notes

* The only animal (aside from *T. rex*) that appeared in multiple segments shown eating in all the segments it was featured in.
* The only animal (aside from *Velociraptor*) that appeared in multiple segments shown hunting in all the segments it was featured in.

 Main **Segments** Gallery

MainSegmentsGallery

These are Prehistoric Planet segments which feature ***Nanuqsaurus***.

## Ice Worlds

  **Ice Worlds**, Segment VI
**Setting**
Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, USA
In the sixth and final segment of Ice Worlds, as the coldest months begun to take hold of the Arctic, a herd of *Pachyrhinosaurus* forages through the forest, feeding on what little food they can find in the snow. Even though their autumn rut is over, two less-dominant males clash heads in order to establish which one is superior. Almost immediately, both are confronted and driven away by an old bull *Pachyrhinosaurus*. The old bull proceeds to scratch his left flank on a tree, and, as he turns to move somewhere else, it is revealed that he has a raw, open wound on his right leg (likely due to constant conflicts).

***“ Battling males barely have time to eat or rest. With food now scarce, it's hard to rebuild strength, and injuries take longer to heal. To make matters worse, the Arctic's most powerful predator is always on the prowl... ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Ice Worlds*
Just then, a pair of *Nanuqsaurus* emerge from behind the trees, with a third coming from another side of the forest shortly after. Rather than try to ambush a member of the herd, the tyrannosaurs seem to choose playing the long, strategic game. Walking menacingly towards the herbivores, the ceratopsians, fearing the threat of isolation (which would make them easier targets for predators), retreat to an open area, where they can take up a better defensive position.

The herd, consisting of 21 adults and 3 juveniles, form an impenetrable circle, bellowing at the predators as they try to look for a way to attack. At times, when a tyrannosaur gets too close, one of the ceratopsians would charge out of the circle to knock them down, forcing the *Nanuqsaurus* to temporarily retreat. As the blizzard worsens and the herbivores get more disoriented, the *Nanuqsauruses* continue testing for weakness, even as the *Pachyrhinosauruses* continue to charge at them whenever they get too close. Once the blizzard has become too severe, both sides of the standoff hunker down and rest. But when the blizzard has passed, the conflict resumes. While the *Nanuqsauruses* come in from one side of the circle, one *Pachyrhinosaurus* on the opposite side of the circle begins running, prompting the rest of the herd to panic and rush away as well, the tyrannosaurs in hot pursuit.

***“ In this test of nerve, all it takes is for one animal to break ranks, and panic quickly spreads. With the herd on the run, the predators have a chance. As the chase goes on, one tiring bull fails to keep up with the rest, until all he can do is turn and face his attackers. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Ice Worlds*
One tiring bull, lagging behind the rest, is left behind. Ironically, it is the same dominant male from earlier, as made clear by the chipped-off tip of his right frill horn, the notch in the horn arrangement of the right edge of his frill, and the scar on his back right leg. It appears that, with the life he lead, he has inevitably doomed himself to such a moment. With no other option, he turns and faces his attackers, the trio of tyrannosaurs closing in on him.

***“ One Pachyrhinosaur has lost a battle. But the war will go on all winter. The animals here now face months of total darkness before the sun returns and brings relief to the extraordinary creatures in the world of ice. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *Ice Worlds*
In the struggle, the bull is dragged down to the ground, pinned, and killed. Two female *Pachyrhinosauruses* stay behind for a while and watch as the *Nanuqsaurus* pack feasts on the once-dominant bull, giving out one last bellow before leaving to rejoin the rest of the herd.

## North America

**North America**, Segment V
**Setting**
Prince Creek Formation, Alaska, USA

**Filming Location**
Meagher County, Montana, USA

In the fifth and final segment of North America, following three months of cold winter darkness, the sun finally rises and warms up the Arctic Circle. A flock of nine *Ornithomimus* rush out, using their great speed to cover vast distances and find fresh vegetation, eventually finding what they sought for in a thawing field of snow. A short distance behind them, a female *Nanuqsaurus* eyes them hungrily. With nowhere to hide and therefore no opportunity to ambush, the *Nanuqsaurus* decides to just outright rush at the flock and hope one blunders due to panic. The flock splits into two, four moving to the right as the other five rush left, the *Nanuqsaurus* choosing to continue chasing the latter group. Eventually, the *Nanuqsaurus*, out of energy, halts its pursuit, growling in frustration as the *Ornithomimus* dash further away.

***“ Each failed hunt uses up more precious energy, bringing her ever closer to starvation. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
Although it was spring, the Arctic Circle was still subject to freezing winds and fluctuating temperatures. A flock of seven *Ornithomimus* are out grazing on a rocky slope full of vegetation, and this time, the *Nanuqsaurus* takes advantage of the flurries of snow and the rocks around her to close the distance between her and the flock without being seen. Slowly, she inches forward, and charges at the flock once she was close enough. Screeching, the seven *Ornithomimus* rush down the slope, the tyrannosaur just a few feet behind them. Two *Ornithomimus* split off to the right, and the *Nanuqsaurus* goes after the larger group of five which ran left.

One *Ornithomimus* in the back slightly stumbles on the ground, getting left behind by the others, and, realizing that it is now the main target of the predator, circles back and runs left, back up the slope, almost getting caught by the *Nanuqsaurus* in the process. The pursuit continues up the mountain until eventually, the *Ornithomimus* makes a critical error and slips on the snowy terrain. Just before it could fully get back up, the *Nanuqsaurus* finally grabs it by the throat, dragging it around before crushing its neck with her jaws. Checking to see if her prey is really dead, the *Nanuqsaurus* picks up the freshly-slain *Ornithomimus* by the neck and makes a slow trip back up the mountain, where her seven hatchlings are waiting.

***“ If her babies are to thrive, she will have to repeat today's success over and over again, until her young are old enough to join her in the hunt, and, eventually fend for themselves, here in this remote - and perhaps the most challenging - frontier of the North American continent, 66 million years ago. ”***

― **David Attenborough**, *North America*
As the family feeds on what may be their first meal in many weeks, three *Ornithomimus* feeding on vegetation watch the scene from a distance, likely fearful that they may be next. Noticing them, the *Nanuqsaurus* gets up and turns to face the *Ornithomimuses* with a huff, causing them to scamper back down the slope. Turning back to her family, she tends to her hatchlings as they chirp up at her before continuing to eat the meal with them.

## Prehistoric Planet: Uncovered - Did Dinosaurs Hunt in Packs?

  **Did Dinosaurs Hunt in Packs?**
**Subject**
The plausibility of dinosaurs (even large tyrannosaurs) engaging in pack-hunting.

**Experts**
Dr. Susannah Maidment, Dr. Darren Naish
Footage of *Nanuqsaurus* and *Pachyrhinosaurus* from the final segment of Ice Worlds is used in this Uncovered segment, which discusses the possibility of pack hunting in dinosaurs. While many people tend to remember dinosaurs for their bones (with one example brought up in the segment being "monospecific bonebeds", sites with accumulations of just a single species of animal), evidence can also be found in other traces they left, like footprints. The presence of tracks left by multiple individual theropods imply that dinosaurs are capable of hunting together.

***“ In 2014, scientists in British Columbia discovered trackways made by three tyrannosaurs that had all been walking side by side. These animals had all been moving together in the same direction, all within just a few meters within each other. ”***

― **Dr. Darren Naish**, *Lead Scientific Consultant*
Basis for such behavior can also be formed by observing some predators alive today. Despite being large and powerful enemy to bring down some prey on their own, some big, intelligent mammals like lions, wolves, and orcas rely on cooperation to take down prey, usually herbivores larger than themselves. This behavior can also be seen in the closest living relatives of the dinosaurs, birds.

***“ In birds, the modern cousins of tyrannosaurs, group hunting behavior is fairly common, it's seen in various seabirds, in some crows, and also in various falcons, hawks and eagles. In some species, like the American Harris hawk, groups of related individuals work together to capture prey. ”***

― **Dr. Darren Naish**, *Lead Scientific Consultant*
As some studies show, when times are hard and large prey is available, predators are more likely to form packs. And such circumstances make themselves clear in the Arctic Circle, even back in the Late Cretaceous Period, justifying how the tyrannosaurs in that area are likely to cooperate and help bring down some of the largest, most formidable herbivores by that time.

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## Trivia

### General

* *Nanuqsaurus* is one of the two animals that appeared in multiple segments shown hunting in all the segments it was featured in. A pack of three hunted *Pachyrhinosaurus* in the sixth segment of Ice Worlds, and one female hunted *Ornithomimus* for her young in the fifth segment of North America. The other is the Mongolian dromaeosaur *Velociraptor*, which hunted and ate a lizard in the second segment of Deserts, ran off with a juvenile azhdarchid to eat it offscreen by the end of the first segment of Freshwater, and engaged in cooperative behavior to hunt down a *Prenocephale* in the second segment of Badlands. Close contenders include:
	+ *Hatzegopteryx*, which ate a juvenile *Zalmoxes* in the seventh segment of Forests and a juvenile *Tethyshadros* in the second segment of Islands, though in its third appearance, it only used a juvenile *Tethyshadros* as a reusable proof of strength, with neither the male nor the female he mated with actually consuming it by the end of the sixth segment of Islands.
	+ If looking for a dead body to scavenge is counted, *Tyrannosaurus rex* (which ate a dead turtle in the first segment of Coasts, ate a *Triceratops* it killed offscreen in the second segment of Freshwater, hunted an *Edmontosaurus* at night in the fifth segment of Swamps, and scavenged a newly-deceased *Alamosaurus* in the first segment of North America).
		- With this, *T. rex* and *Nanuqsaurus* are also the only animals that appeared in multiple segments shown eating in all the segments they appeared in.

### Ice Worlds

* Despite *Nanuqsaurus* being depicted at two-thirds of its actual length in the sixth segment of Ice Worlds (which can be justified by the idea that the three of them might be adolescents), there is evidence that even young tyrannosaurs are capable of attacking fully-grown ceratopsians successfully. One of the most significant fossils of any dinosaur is the "Dueling Dinosaurs" specimen of Hell Creek, which preserves an adolescent *T. rex* locked in combat with a *Triceratops horridus*, proving that even adolescent tyrannosaurs are capable of taking down large ceratopsians, a feat that has more chances of success when done by a pack.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 I Know Dino: The Big Dinosaur Podcast, Episode 447: Dinosaurs in North America: Featuring Prehistoric Planet 2
2. ↑ 'Dueling Dinosaurs' fossil, hidden from science for 14 years, could finally reveal its secrets
3. ↑ North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to receive the "Dueling Dinosaurs"