National Geographic Kids - USA (2022-05)

TANZANIA

MOZAMBIQUE

MALAWI

ZAMBIA

Uncatchable lizard!

Whoa, cool.

22 NAT GEO KIDS^ •^ MAY 2022

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For your last stop, your vehicle transports you somewhere

really far away—approximately 145 million years ago in

what’s now the African country of Tanzania.

As you lower the vehicle toward a prehistoric forest,

a massive head suddenly pokes through the treetops. The

giant animal is using its mouth to yank leaves off trees.

You’ve spotted a Giraffatitan (pronounced juh-RAF-uh-

teye-tin), a dinosaur named for its long neck and towering

size that could grow to be 75 feet long and 40 feet tall. The

dino isn’t alone. Three other Giraffatitan eat nearby; one

is a baby, munching leaves its mom drops on the ground.

These gigantic dinosaurs might look terrifying, but

the only buffet the herbivores want is a treetop one.

“Giraffatitan was likely warm-blooded,” paleontologist

Paul Upchurch says. “They’d need to eat a lot to keep up

their energy—maybe up to 440 pounds of plants a day.”

Herds of Giraffatitan made a big impact on the pre-

historic forests, stripping leaves from hundreds of trees

as they roamed. They’d even push the trees over if they

couldn’t reach food at the top.

You notice that this herd has eaten most of the leaves

from nearby trees and are wandering out of the forest,

searching for their next meal. They won’t return until the

vegetation has grown back.

“They might trek a north-south path, moving with the

seasons,” Upchurch says. “That’s how they get the best eats.”

The herd barely notices your vehicle lift up through the

canopy and zoom away. Your forest safari has come to an

end. It’s time to return to the present to discover how

you can help protect forests today.

Travel back in time to meet

a giraffe-like dinosaur that

ruled the ancient forest.

Here’s where

Giraffatitan fossils

have been found.

Ha! Nope—those are

Dysalotosaurus.

So you probably figured out that

Giraffatitan means “giant giraffe.”

Any idea what those little red

running dinos are named?

What’s their name mean?

Um ... little red running dinos?

@NatGeoKids

is texting you!

PREHISTORIC FOREST

Giraffatitan