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Modern Dinosaurs

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AB Filmcenter

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And certainly, you wouldn't want
a big eel like this, - Modern Dinosaurs

And certainly, you wouldn't want a big eel like this,

But there are stories of them
coming up and nudging people, - Modern Dinosaurs

But there are stories of them coming up and nudging people,

In turbid water, - Modern Dinosaurs

In turbid water,

But I've only ever been bitten
a couple of times, - Modern Dinosaurs

But I've only ever been bitten a couple of times,

There are 19 species
of freshwater eel in the world, - Modern Dinosaurs

There are 19 species of freshwater eel in the world,

Yet New Zealand's female longfins
are almost twice the size - Modern Dinosaurs

Yet New Zealand's female longfins are almost twice the ...

Why have they been the subject of
island gigantism, - Modern Dinosaurs

Why have they been the subject of island gigantism,

It turns out living quietly
in Lake Rotoiti - Modern Dinosaurs

It turns out living quietly in Lake Rotoiti

While they live here, - Modern Dinosaurs

While they live here,

New Zealand's longfin eels
are the largest freshwater eels
in the world. - Modern Dinosaurs

New Zealand's longfin eels are the largest freshwater e...

Freshwater ecologist Dr Don Jellyman
is convinced the secret
is their incredible life history. - Modern Dinosaurs

Freshwater ecologist Dr Don Jellyman is convinced the secret...

Eels first evolved
in the Western Pacific Ocean, - Modern Dinosaurs

Eels first evolved in the Western Pacific Ocean,

When they first reached New Zealand
around 20 million years ago, - Modern Dinosaurs

When they first reached New Zealand around 20 million years ...

The only other fish in the rivers
were small and harmless. - Modern Dinosaurs

The only other fish in the rivers were small and harmless.

These are banded kokopu, - Modern Dinosaurs

These are banded kokopu,

They are so primitive,
they don't even have scales, - Modern Dinosaurs

They are so primitive, they don't even have scales,

There are dozens of species
in New Zealand, - Modern Dinosaurs

There are dozens of species in New Zealand,

With no predators or competition, - Modern Dinosaurs

With no predators or competition,

And in New Zealand
they've done particularly well, - Modern Dinosaurs

And in New Zealand they've done particularly well,

So, it was kind of
a wonderful opportunity for eels - Modern Dinosaurs

So, it was kind of a wonderful opportunity for eels

And so they're found
throughout New Zealand, - Modern Dinosaurs

And so they're found throughout New Zealand,

These eels must make
a mysterious and epic voyage
back into the tropical ocean - Modern Dinosaurs

These eels must make a mysterious and epic voyage back into ...

..and they will even
travel over land for short distances
if they have to. - Modern Dinosaurs

..and they will even travel over land for short distances if...

All freshwater eels
are basically a marine species - Modern Dinosaurs

All freshwater eels are basically a marine species

Now, the significance of that is, - Modern Dinosaurs

Now, the significance of that is,

So, they're marine spawners, - Modern Dinosaurs

So, they're marine spawners,

It means, um, a very long journey, - Modern Dinosaurs

It means, um, a very long journey,

The exact location
of the longfin eel's spawning ground - Modern Dinosaurs

The exact location of the longfin eel's spawning ground

No one has ever seen it, - Modern Dinosaurs

No one has ever seen it,

They leave the coast of New Zealand
and all head in the same direction, - Modern Dinosaurs

They leave the coast of New Zealand and all head in the same...

It turns out that
our most successful tags, - Modern Dinosaurs

It turns out that our most successful tags,

When they reach
their secret spawning ground, - Modern Dinosaurs

When they reach their secret spawning ground,

Then, - Modern Dinosaurs

Their offspring start life
as leaf-shaped larvae - Modern Dinosaurs

Their offspring start life as leaf-shaped larvae

No one has ever seen this stage
in New Zealand's longfin eel. - Modern Dinosaurs

No one has ever seen this stage in New Zealand's longfi...

The larvae then somehow find
their way back to New Zealand - Modern Dinosaurs

The larvae then somehow find their way back to New Zealand

Nobody knows how they navigate
to their home islands, - Modern Dinosaurs

Nobody knows how they navigate to their home islands,

The leptocephali
spends nine or ten months at sea, - Modern Dinosaurs

The leptocephali spends nine or ten months at sea,

They come into freshwater, - Modern Dinosaurs

They come into freshwater,

The young eels can climb
40-metre obstacles. - Modern Dinosaurs

The young eels can climb 40-metre obstacles.

Sometimes it takes several years
for the eels to reach
a location suited to them. - Modern Dinosaurs

Sometimes it takes several years for the eels to reach a loc...

But once she's safe
in a deep glacial lake like this, - Modern Dinosaurs

But once she's safe in a deep glacial lake like this,

Don is convinced this is why
New Zealand's female longfin eels - Modern Dinosaurs

Don is convinced this is why New Zealand's female longf...

It's because they're
the biggest species around, - Modern Dinosaurs

It's because they're the biggest species around,

The females can hang around
and get very big. - Modern Dinosaurs

The females can hang around and get very big.

And when they do that, they have
a very large number of eggs. - Modern Dinosaurs

And when they do that, they have a very large number of eggs...

A female eel of this size might have
two or three million eggs. - Modern Dinosaurs

A female eel of this size might have two or three million eg...

But if it delays
its migration to the sea - Modern Dinosaurs

But if it delays its migration to the sea

So, big, big benefits
in hanging around, - Modern Dinosaurs

So, big, big benefits in hanging around,

Any year now, - Modern Dinosaurs

For now, she is safe in Lake Rotoiti
and can afford to take her time. - Modern Dinosaurs

For now, she is safe in Lake Rotoiti and can afford to take ...

She may wait for decades,
slowly growling larger, - Modern Dinosaurs

She may wait for decades, slowly growling larger,

An island giant, - Modern Dinosaurs

An island giant,

A thousand kilometres north,
on Little Barrier Island, - Modern Dinosaurs

A thousand kilometres north, on Little Barrier Island,

Rangers Leigh Joyce and Nicola Toki - Modern Dinosaurs

Rangers Leigh Joyce and Nicola Toki

Wow... (LAUGHS) - Modern Dinosaurs

Wow... (LAUGHS)

Despite their fearsome appearance, - Modern Dinosaurs

Despite their fearsome appearance,

She's got these amazing little claws
on the end of her feet, - Modern Dinosaurs

She's got these amazing little claws on the end of her ...

Like eels, - Modern Dinosaurs

But in that time, she can lay,
like, 300 to 500 eggs. - Modern Dinosaurs

But in that time, she can lay, like, 300 to 500 eggs.

So, she looks really kind of
ferocious, really, - Modern Dinosaurs

So, she looks really kind of ferocious, really,

So, it looks as though she's, like, - Modern Dinosaurs

So, it looks as though she's, like,

She's very docile, - Modern Dinosaurs

She's very docile,

Um, she might raise her legs up
if she's in alarm. - Modern Dinosaurs

Um, she might raise her legs up if she's in alarm.

But her ovipositor,
the spine out the back,
is actually for laying her eggs. - Modern Dinosaurs

But her ovipositor, the spine out the back, is actually for ...

And she'll push that down
into the ground, - Modern Dinosaurs

And she'll push that down into the ground,

And it splits, her eggs
actually come down the middle, - Modern Dinosaurs

And it splits, her eggs actually come down the middle,

(LAUGHS) - Modern Dinosaurs

The eleven species of giant weta
are all forest browsers. - Modern Dinosaurs

The eleven species of giant weta are all forest browsers.

The wetapunga
of Little Barrier Island
is the biggest of them all, - Modern Dinosaurs

The wetapunga of Little Barrier Island is the biggest of the...

(BOTH LAUGH) - Modern Dinosaurs

I would say definitely heavier
than a sparrow. Yep. - Modern Dinosaurs

I would say definitely heavier than a sparrow. Yep.

And she's been on your head.
Yeah... (LAUGHS) - Modern Dinosaurs

And she's been on your head. Yeah... (LAUGHS)

When people think
of New Zealand wildlife, - Modern Dinosaurs

When people think of New Zealand wildlife,

And yet, - Modern Dinosaurs

I mean, island gigantism
has occurred here - Modern Dinosaurs

I mean, island gigantism has occurred here

With few threats from predators
and no competition from mammals, - Modern Dinosaurs

With few threats from predators and no competition from mamm...

Throughout its
100-million-year history, - Modern Dinosaurs

Throughout its 100-million-year history,

While it's impossible to say
what new adaptations
the next 100 million hold, - Modern Dinosaurs

While it's impossible to say what new adaptations the n...

Modern Dinosaurs poster

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

User Rating: 0.0 (0 ratings)

Director: N/A

Writer: James Heyward

Production: AB Filmcenter

Genre:

Year: 2017

MetaScore: N/A/100

ImdbRating: 7.9

BoxOffice:

Released: 01 Sep 2017

Awards: N/A

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