David Attenborough's Life Stories

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BBC Radio 4 Extra

Factual: Pets & Animals

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world

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David Attenborough's Life Stories: Series 2: Quetzalcoatlus

Quetzalcoatlus

Series 2

BBC Radio 4 Extra - David Attenborough's Life Stories, Series 2, Quetzalcoatlus

Sir David marvels over the Quetzalcoatlus: the largest flying animal ever to exist.

David Attenborough is fascinated by the largest flying animal ever to exist during the time of the dinosaurs. From 2011.

As Sir David Attenborough explains: 

"The biggest animal to fly was not a bird, but a reptile."

It was a Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur with at least a 44 foot wingspan. David, a huge fan of palaeontology, is skilled in bringing the past natural histories to life through stories about the discovery of key fossils. 

What a creature this "terrible lizard" must have been - big enough to scavenge the bodies of dead Tyrannosaurus and yet able to fly, probably in large numbers. And with a twist so typical of Sir David's writing, he brings this pterosaur to life at the very end.

Written and presented by David Attenborough.

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.

David Attenborough's Life Stories: Series 2

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