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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Dinosaurs were magnificent creatures... [Dinosaurs in a field]

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Majestic...

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Elegant...

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And uh…sometimes pretty darn scary. [T-Rex appears]

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So while it's definitely pretty sad that they aren't around today for us to enjoy, we all

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might be a little better off without this...

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Or this...

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Or this...

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Or swarms of these running around. [Dinosaurs tormenting guys on a bike]

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But as grateful as we are to not have to worry about being some dino's afternoon snack…

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…what happened?

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Why are they gone?

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Well, scientists believe a massive extinction of dinosaurs occurred around 66 million years ago. [Scientist working in a lab]

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But while scientists agree that this extinction definitely happened, they disagree on exactly [Dinosaur disappears off a cliff]

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how it went down.

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For example, one popular theory is that an asteroid hit the earth around this time, wiping

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out all of the dinosaurs on the planet. [Asteroid hitting earth]

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Another theory is that instead of an asteroid, it was actually volcanoes throughout a large

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area in India that caused the dinosaurs to go extinct, erupting over a period of thousands [Volcano erupting]

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of years.

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Yeesh…maybe someone should've given those volcanoes a Snickers….they're not themselves

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when they're hungry.

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Another theory is that the earth kept getting colder and colder, and because dinosaurs are [Dinosaurs shaking with cold]

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cold-blooded, and electric blankets weren't invented yet, they weren't able to survive.

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And some scientists think, "Hey, the more theories, the merrier," and think it was some

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sort of combination of all three that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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But regardless of how it happened, we know that 70% of the animals that lived at this

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time went extinct.

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The remaining 30% of animals that survived included small rodent mammals, crocodiles, [A rodent, crocodile and a bird appear]

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and some birds.

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So yeah, it was a pretty tough time for life on earth.

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The only time period that was scarier?

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The '80s…seriously, the clothing… the hair do's.. [Man thinks about the 80's time period]

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But it doesn't necessarily take a giant meteor or a series of volcanoes to cause a species

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to go extinct.

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You've probably heard of plenty of animals that are endangered or going extinct even [A polar bear laying on a rock]

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today.

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Recent examples of animal species that have gone extinct include the Javan Tiger,

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the Golden Toad, and the Passenger Pigeon.

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And there are many more species that are critically endangered and nearing extinction, including [A baboon crying]

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the Black Rhino, the Mountain Gorilla, the Bengal Tiger, and the Leatherback Turtle.

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What's worse is that many species are endangered because of us. [A bear dead on a log and a man appears]

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Humans are either hunting them or destroying their habitats.

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Yup.

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Some humans can be the worst.

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That's why it's so important that we do our best to protect all species of plants and

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animals in order to keep them alive and well for years to come. [Monkey family protecting a young monkey]

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And in case you still need to be convinced, just look at this photo of a baby leatherback turtle.

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How can you say no to that face? [Hand holding a small leatherback turtle]

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