Walking With Beasts: Episode 2 - Whale Killer Retrospective

[@bkjeong4302]

Basilosaurus’s habitat is actually backwards in this episode (it was NOT a pelagic animal, but a costal predator found in shallow waters-and it wasn’t a “rare visitor” to Egypt’s shallow seas, it was quite common there and that was where it hunted Dorudon calves). This isn’t due to the episode being outdated: that was something known as far back as 1998 and is thus the result of poor research during production.

[@adamthespinygiant]

“The large killer birds are no longer much in evidence” South American terror birds and land crocodiles and Australia that is still ruled by reptiles: “Are you sure about that?”

[@speedracer2008]

To be fair, Kenneth does say they were replaced on MOST continents, indicating that the show does acknowledge this.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

​@speedracer2008 I wonder if the Terror birds would have lasted longer if there was a land bridge between North and South America back in the early Cenozoic?

[@unnaturalhistorychannel]

Stumbled on these retrospectives and have been really enjoying them. Far more indepth than my own and leaving no stone unturned. Keen to see more!

[@AncientRealms1999]

Glad you like them!

[@connormunro-flanagan2078]

Glad to see you here bro

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

The Tethys Sea was also closed off by the collision between Southern Asia and Northern Asia to give birth to the tallest mountains on Earth currently. Where there's marine fossils.

[@canonbehenna612]

And then it would become nothing but a salt desert

[@ek9509]

13:20: Later, in Andy’s Prehistoric Adventures (during the same episode with the Andrewsarchus, after Andy has just arrived into the time period), they present to us the same crabs “showing us a little dance”, as Andy greets them. I thought that was a pretty neat way to actually show us a proper reason for the crabs being there at all.

[@speedracer2008]

The music that plays when the female Embolotherium chases off the first Andrewsarchus as it attempts to sneak up on her reuses the music from when the Liopleurodon's ability to drag its massive bulk, thanks to its 3-meter long flippers, is described. Specifically, the few seconds before Kenneth says "It is impossible to say whether this mother even understands that her calf is dead."

[@speedracer2008]

I’ve heard 60 tons is an overestimation for Basilosaurus, as that would only be plausible if it had blubber, which it probably didn’t, due to the warm water it lived in. 15-20 tons is probably more likely.

[@thenerdbeast7375]

To be fair assuming Andrewsarchus was a Mesonychid wasn't a bad guess at the time, there really wasn't much to go on then and still isn't.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

Funnily enough, the Sahara Desert used to be a green savanna paradise not that long ago. I wonder if that'll ever happen again?

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

They should have had an ancestor or relative of the Nile Crocodile swimming & narrowly missing the female Basilosaurus in the shallow Egyptian sea. Referencing the last episode with Ambulacetus.

[@dont-hurt-me2519]

Don't know if you noticed, but at 8:17, you can see some of the Andrewsarchu puppet's wiring sticking out in the bottom right corner of the screen. Maybe that's why these extra scenes were left out of the original WWB?

[@AncientRealms1999]

Yeah I did see that, that's probably why it's not in the episode, unless it was filmed afterwards

[@ek9509]

16:40: LOL. Hell, on this episode’s latest rewatch, I actually thought similar to you.

[@gianmarcozampella5138]

as a kid,I remember thinking the Basilosaurus was the coolest thing I'd ever seen 'till that point,and that epic theme that accompanied it helped a lot. I also remember loving the Lucky Escape scene so much that I would recreate it whenever I was at sea,playing the role of the female Basilosaurus of course,that's probably why,as much as I love Hogs Blood,I have to choose that track as my favorite of the episode,especially the part when the last wave of the tide comes full speed,building up the tension and what's going to unfold. P.S. Really enjoyed the meme moments

[@speedracer2008]

The Moeritherium noise is reused in Walking with Monsters (2005) for the Inostrancevia at one point. I wonder what they used to make it. Also, I love that shot of blood trailing from the Basilosaurus mouth after it kills the sharks and the blood trailing from the Physogaleus after it kills the Apidium. The guitar strings playing afterwards just hammer in how dangerous the situation is.

[@kandyeggs]

I’m pretty sure the sound is mildly edited from a panda’s bleat!

[@AncientRealms1999]

@@kandyeggs similar to the Propalaeotherium then

[@HodgePodge7]

All my life I thought that whale vertebrae on the beach was a tree stump... Fantastic review of my personal favourite episode!

[@AncientRealms1999]

I guess that vertebrae reveal left you... stumped.

[@speedracer2008]

@@AncientRealms1999I was surprised that Hodgepodge didn’t point out the whale vertebrae in his review of Whale Killer. Now, his comment explains a few things.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

​@@AncientRealms1999 I bet that the Andrewsarchus scavenge from the carcass some time ago. Practically devouring a cousin species. 😂

[@speedracer2008]

@@UnwantedGhost1-anz25 I think the Andrewsarchus sniffing the whale backbone is meant to imply that.

[@speedracer2008]

Not gonna lie, after I saw the Andrewsarchus bouncing off after the Embolotherium threw it away from her calf, I started mimicking the limp whenever I walked away from a situation.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

They should have used a model of Otodus O. that's a member of the now extinct mega tooth shark family. And possible ancestors to Otodus Megalodons at the beginning of this episode.

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

There's also a possibility that the ancestors of Megaldons or other large sharks during this time period likely preyed on some unfortunate Durudons. Or descendants of Mosasuars that somehow survived. 😂

[@canonbehenna612]

Their were giant snake but no mosasaurs

[@alt-animefan3231]

brontothere out here just dropping those sick beats with his homeboys

[@Godzillakuj94]

This episode has gotta have the best soundtrack bits in the whole Walking With series. Really dig the track that plays when the Entelodonts (episode after this one whoops) are grouping up and when the mother Basilosaurus has to hunt the Dorudon.

[@speedracer2008]

Hogs Blood. It uses the music from both scenes.

[@JohnSmith-rk7zy]

Great series I’m glad it’s continuing

[@Toshiro93]

When I first saw it, I remember finding it the least captivating episode of the series: interesting, for sure. and at several moments very beautiful, but compared to others, it struck me less in the imagination. However, I greatly appreciated this episode of the retrospective, and I re-evaluated some aspects that I didn't fully appreciate as a child. I agree with you on the use of practical effects, and digital ones: the story conveyed is simple, but is told effectively. great work - keep it up!

[@Garryzilla]

1:49 ok that yeet got me good

[@speedracer2008]

I love the music that plays as the Andrewsarchus tussle for the calf. It perfectly captures the sneakiness of the scavengers.

[@j.m.marshall669]

Nice touches with the Embolotherium being silenced by the Dalek, and the Andrewsarchus terminators :)

[@CameronKiesser]

Has to be one of my fav episodes in Walking With.

[@countsnowyofgwainn3996]

I love these vids and I can't wait to see the next ones

[@speedracer2008]

It's possible that the claws on the Andrewsarchus model are meant to be hoof-like toes, akin to the Propaleotherium toes.

[@sevenidols607]

Did Arsinoitherium and Moeritherium live at the same time and place as basilosaurus? I've been trying to confirm. But Wikipedia is not clear

[@Spacekid_Productions]

this is really nicely done. Cant wait to see you analyse the next episode 😊

[@AncientRealms1999]

Thanks

[@TrolliNaattori]

So great work!❤

[@speedracer2008]

2:01 I knew that was coming. You, along with Red Raptor Writes and Trey the Explainer, use some of the funniest memes.

[@AncientRealms1999]

Thanks

[@UnwantedGhost1-anz25]

Why haven't the dominant marine reptiles survived to compete with the sharks & marine mammals over the entire Cenozoic era? Or crocodiles try filling the Mosasuars niche?

[@Grand_History]

You left out the unintentional poetry of including Andrewsarchus in an episode about whales. Given that we now think they were closely related to hippos (which are themselves the closest living land mammal to whales), this episode can be seen as viewing the two big branches of whale evolution in the early Cenozoic; those that remained terrestrial and those that became fully marine, with our knowledge that the latter was the branch that found major success in our modern ecosystems.

[@kkupsky6321]

I thought this was cardboard doug for a second. Don’t go all seven days of it. Good show mate.

[@francissemyon7971]

There is no way Basilosaurus massed 60 tonnes.

[@ThePalaeontologist]

Nicely done.

[@speedracer2008]

This video did not disappoint

[@dplocksmith91]

The Andrewsarchus were in a pick-up pack XD

[@Lord.Kiltridge]

I'm really enjoying the episodes so far. I swear your voice sounds familiar. Though it could just be the London accent. Does Valerian mean anything to you?

[@jon_the_guanlong]

Well done, lad

[@kkupsky6321]

I thought Aw man Not and then the Monty Python made an appearance and I realised this isn’t the ancient channel to sleep to. Just be tasteful.

[@js1423]

Great video! Will you do Walking with Dinosaurs after Beasts?

[@AncientRealms1999]

Probably

[@tyrannotherium7873]

I didn’t know that the location in the second episode was in Florida. For some reason I thought it was somewhere else

[@AncientRealms1999]

The mangroves definitely are, for the scrublands it might be somewhere else

[@speedracer2008]

@@AncientRealms1999I’ve heard that the scrublands were shot in Mexico, where Land of Giants was also shot (albeit with additional shots in Arizona).

[@AncientRealms1999]

@@speedracer2008 yes just found that out but too late for the video

[@tabbygreendragon9363]

Excuse me , can you please do land of giants next?

[@AncientRealms1999]

I'm going to

[@thegreatprimevalshow]

Killer Whale is Sueing you.

[@AncientRealms1999]

Killer Whale virtually owns the copyright.

[@BigBoiFobbs2011]

Can you do Another episode like land of giants

[@AncientRealms1999]

I'm gonna do the rest

[@mythplatypuspwned]

2:28 Madagascar reference 🤣

[@maozilla9149]

cool

[@Paulinaaa-im4re]

15:12

[@filipkopec525]

It's a shame that it's shorter than the previous one, but it's also understendable given that you don't want o repeat talking about the same things

[@AncientRealms1999]

Yeah I expected it to be longer tbh

[@IreneJacobo]

15:10 to 15:14

[@rileyohrt7256]

Is nobody gonna talk about how funny this bit was? 2:28

[@kkupsky6321]

Dude. Comon. Horns under water max it rated r. I’ve never heard a French horn underwater. And as a semen I know. Seaman? Honestly I’m just tryin to help the algorithm.

[@LizardMan78]

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