The Scientific Accuracy of Walking With Dinosaurs - Episode 5: Spirits of the Ice Forest

24 years after it originally aired, how has the science of Walking With Dinosaurs episode 5 held up? Join me as we look at the scientific accuracies and inaccuracies of Spirits of the Ice Forest!

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0:00 - Introduction
1:41 - Leaellynasaura
14:19 - Koolasuchus
19:22 - Muttaburrasaurus
25:05 - 'Polar Allosaur'
28:09 - Pterosaurs
31:35 - Steropodon
33:44 - Tuatara
35:33 - Wētā
36:31 - Environment
38:21 - Conclusion

[plarisyt]

So nice to see this come back. Hopefully in the future, we can also get Walking with Beasts and Walking with Monsters.

[JurassicJustice]

I’ve been so eagerly waiting for you to get back to reviewing this series! Thank you for getting back to it, this is one of my favorite Walking with episodes!

[DanGamingFan]

I'm so glad this series is back. This episode is one of my favorites. I love how much it got right. As well as it's depiction of just how different it was inside the Antarctic Circle back then. I love the inclusion of Koolasuchus, (prehistoric amphibians do not get enough attention, ) and Muttaburrasauras is one of my favorite dinosaurs ever. I can't wait for the finale.

[dweldredge]

Walking With Dinosaurs becoming dated is a good thing in that it means that our understanding of paleontology has progressed so far in the past 24 years. Imagine what we'll find out in the next 24.

[thespinodino]

This episode was always my favorite as a kid. Maybe I was biased because this one had Koolasuchus in it, but looking back, it still holds that title thanks to its atmosphere, uniqueness, music, and storytelling. I love this episode for shedding some light on the more obscure cold-weather dinosaurs.

[legoboy]

Holy crap I can’t believe the first video in this series was 4 years ago. I thought it was just 2 time flies. I’m glad you’re still continuing it I love these videos

[Dinoceratops]

I’m glad that this series has finally returned. Walking With Dinosaurs was such an amazing series, and it’s fascinating to see how much our understanding of dinosaurs has changed since it first aired.

[jakobmorris]

This episode was shot in New Zealand! As a New Zealander, I was lucky to visit this spot when I was quite young. I remember they had a couple of old steam trains that you could take a trip on through this particular forest. Very cold and damp, but absolutely magical:)

[aidenraptor]

I would also like to point out that the “Polar Allosaur” in this episode should not be referred to as definitely being Australovenator and be labelled as an unnamed theropod, even if it’s called an unnamed Megaraptorid. The reason is because Australovenator is only known from an incomplete skeleton found in the Winton Formation of Queensland, which is thought to date from anywhere between 100-94mya. Stating that Australovenator lived in Victoria or Antarctica at around 106mya would make it a time traveller and a migrator. While there is some evidence of theropod dinosaurs assigned to the Megaraptorsn clade found in Australia, none of them show enough detail to be confidently placed as Australovenator itself. I see a lot of people on the internet calling the “Polar Allosaur” as Australovenator without actually looking into the evidence the scientists have already explained. I even met an Australian Paleontologist during his presentation on Paleontology and he stated that the theropod leg bone can’t be described as an Australovenator without further evidence.

[christianbontempo]

How fitting that the return of the Ben G Thomas WWD accuracy series is Spirits Of The Ice Forest. And in December no less

[tec-jones]

I don't believe it! This series is back, and with my favorite Walking With episode! Christmas has come early this year.

[tonytaskforce]

One day I hope they make "Scuttling with Trilobites." 😁

[franciszekwrona]

Finally! I'm so happy you didn't abandon this series. Prehistoric Park and Walking with are definitely what got me into paleontology.
BTW absolutely love the track "Antarctic spring" from this episode

[misterflibble]

Our understanding of dinosaurs and their environments is always going to evolve but I am amazed at how well this *_24 year old_* series holds up. BTW by a peculiar coincidence I just re-watched this series a few days ago!

[menkomonty]

I kind of like the idea of the Leaellynasaura having long feathery tails to keep warm during the winter times. Such a cute image

[joshualandry]

You know, at the rate this series is going you will be able to go back and correct the corrections with modern discoveries.

[thomasmarais]

I love that even if one of your video series has been dormant for a while, it eventually wakes up. Dovetails nicely with this episode, har har

[PaleoEdits]

This dropped out of nowhere, thank you so much!

[noneedsleep]

Spirits of the Ice Forest was always my favourite episode, I was gutted that you never got around to making this back when you were originally doing the series, so this is one hell of a Christmas gift

[hallamhal]

The music in this episode was awe inspiring 🙌
That long tail does sound interesting, most cold weather animals tend to have shorter stubbier appendages to preserve warmth