WHILE historians and scientists have a greater sphere of reference when it comes to the Tyrannosaurus rex, for everyone else, their limited knowledge is gleaned from watching them on the big or small screens. Of course, Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was a great crash course on these prehistoric predators.
Admittedly, “dinosaurs” has become a subject that has perennially piqued the curiosity of both young and old.
Now National Geographic Channel have taken things a step further. Not only have they built a 12m life-like T-rex (inside and out) – they will be conducting an autopsy on it to attempt to answer burning questions.
Built by Jez Gibson Harris of Crawley Creatures, who have been in the TV and film industries for 25 years and were behind the animatronics of hits like Star Wars and Lost World, this T-rex is made of very realistic silicone rubbers.
He explained: “The dino is based on Sue, one of the most famous fossils found in the US, which gave us the bulk of the body. Then we sort of sculpted a scale model, a metre-and-a- half long. We then sculpted all the muscle and skin texture. We also used 5 tons of wood-based clay to get those forms and structure you see. The tail was brought in separately and the head sculpted separately. The heart weighs about 40 to 50kg. There are 9m of intestines, and lungs.”
Some of the questions tackled include the ongoing debate on whether the T-rex had feathers, how it fed with those tiny arms, whether it was a scavenger or hunter, how it procreated, its digestive process and whether it was warm-blooded like a mammal or cold-blooded like a reptile.
Dinosaur expert, Professor John Hutchinson, commented: “Being involved in making this programme for the last six months or so has been one of the highlights of my career. When they first introduced the idea of a dinosaur autopsy, I thought, ‘well, this is perfect’. I dissect animals scientifically to understand animal structure better. So to dissect a T-rex, that’s great. It brings together two worlds that excite me most. And it is a great educational opportunity and entertainment.
“We don’t know exactly what T-rex’s skin covering was like. But we do suspect it would have skin and scales, mixed with some filamentous feathers. We also think they would have had colour vision. I went back and forth with Jez’s team and the National Geographic Channel production team, for many months.
“Talking internal organs, it’s got everything in there, including over 100l of blood. It’s going to be a real cinema verite kind of experience, seeing what happens as the palaeontologists dissect the dinosaur.”
He teased: “They may find an egg inside and realise this was a female dinosaur.”
Executive producer Paul Wooding commented on this programme defying the natural order of such shows: “We are called Impossible Factual. But we knew it would be quite possible. There’s no doubt it was a channel. Then again, the sheer volume of material used to build the dino has been huge. It was continual moulding and then casting. Everything we were trying to do here is using the latest anatomical science. The latest studies of dinosaur and fossil finds. We learnt a lot of about dinosaurs just creating this – which was the point as well. Hopefully, that comes through in the show.”
This cutting-edge undertaking is a definite must-see for dinosaur enthusiasts.
l T. rex Autopsy, National Geographic Channel (DStv channel 181), Mon, 8.15pm. Also, Top 10 Biggest Beasts Ever (Tues, 8.05pm), T.rex: Ultimate Survivor (Wed, 8.05pm), Dino Death Match (Wed, 9pm), Bigger Than T. rex (Thurs, 8.05pm) might be worth checking out.