Dumb Animals

Nothing drives me crazier than to hear people refer to animals as "dumb". That is such a foolish term to apply to creatures that we probably don't understand. Over the past 35 years or so, I have spent a lot of my time studying and observing the behaviors of various wild and domestic animals and have come to realize that almost everything animals do can be predicted and explained with a fair level of certainty.

Within the animal kingdom there are numerous behaviors that can, to the untrained eye, seem to be a bit "lacking in intellect". But if we understand why animals act the way they do, then their behaviors begin to make a lot of sense. Keep in mind that in the animal kingdom, "smart = survival". So the only "dumb" animals are those that do not survive. And since every species of animal we see around us today has been around for at least a thousand years or so, then to call any animal dumb is just..........dumb. :)

Now it's true that some domesticated animals have lost their intellectual edge and have developed behaviors that could be detrimental to their survival if they were ever reintroduced back into the wild, but that still does not mean they are dumb. It just means that they now rely on man to maintain their environments and would be unable to handle the rigors of life if left to their own devices. Sheep are a perfect example. Without mans intervention, the common sheep would quickly fall to predators, diseases or both. The same goes for most domesticated chickens and turkeys. They just don't have the ability to adapt to life outside of the controlled environments that are supplied by man.

So the next time you see an animal behaving in ways that appear "dumb", look a little closer. There is almost always an answer as to why they act the way they do.

An Amazing Feathered Dinosaur

A few weeks ago I had the chance to look at a feathered dinosaur that was found in China. I was pretty amazed at the quality of the fossil; especially the feather impressions. As you can see from these images, it is an incredible piece.
It was identified as a Jinfengopteryx, a Cretaceous Troodont.



This is the tail, and legs. Notice the preservation of the toes. This suggests that this little dinosaur fell into a swamp or thick mud, and was buried rather quickly. Usually, scavengers tear apart the delicate parts, like the feet. So wherever this guy died, there were not many scavengers around. (Which is good for us!)



Poor guy seems to have lost his head. Or it was crushed.

Look at the magnificent preservation of the wing.

Here is a shot of the entire piece.


Another wing shot. The feathers are amazing.

This is a closeup of the tail. If you did not see the rest of the skeleton, you would assume that you were looking at a birds tail!

And here is the left wing, with feathers...

And another full body shot.

Finds like this are simply amazing. This is clearly a dinosaur, but has the feathers of a bird. In my opinion, this "dinosaur" was capable of sustained flight. Those wing feathers appear to me, to be more than just plumage used for display or body temperature regulation. They look to be "flight feathers".

Right now I am looking at an unusual Pterosaur. I'll post some pictures soon....

The Art of Fossils Identification

At least once a week I get someone who contacts me and asks that I help identify "a fossil" that they found. Identifying fossils can be a tricky thing, because rocks come in such a variety of shapes and sizes they can often look like a fossil when in fact they are just unusual rocks.

I am always amazed at the response I get when I explain that their "fossil" is just an odd shaped rock. They get furious and begin to argue and insist that their "rock" is a fossil. In most cases, these folks have convinced themselves that their "fossil" is going to be worth tens of thousands of dollars, and will resolve their financial woes or allow them to retire.

Recently I had a man and his wife who sent me this picture of a "dinosaur skull". I explained that what they found is a piece of common limestone. But because the stone has holes in it, they assumed these holes were "eyes, nose, mouth, teeth" etc. They wanted to know if they should put it on ebay, or contact a museum to see if they wanted to buy it. They were going to ask $500,000.00 for it. I explained that I owned hundreds of pieces of this same kind of stone that I used for decoration in my aquariums. It was worth nothing and was not a fossil. But that is not what they wanted to hear. Instead they accused me of being a liar, cheat, fake, con artist, and a lot of other names.

There are times when someone does find authentic fossils. Living in San Antonio, we sit on a formation that holds millions of fossilized sea creatures. People find hundreds of clams, oysters, snails and many other Cretaceous sea critters. But because these things are so common, they have little to no value. But when they find something, most of them contact me to ask how much its worth. I explain that every fossil is an incredible discovery, but some are more common than others and may not be worth anything. I always suggest that they keep their fossils as amazing treasures and don't waste their time worrying about the value.

I had the opportunity last month to identify a really nice bison tooth that a man found. It was an exception specimen, in pristine condition. But when I told him that bison teeth were worth about $12.00, he could not believe it. He thought that this "discovery" would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But when I told him that during the Pleistocene, there were millions of bison, each with a mouthful of teeth. So in essence there could be hundreds of millions of bison teeth out there. I think he finally understood, but I could tell that he was going to press onward to try and find a buyer.

But once in a while, I get the chance to identify some truly amazing fossils. Last week I had the opportunity to look at some infant Tyrannosaurus teeth. These things were so small, they required a microscope to see the serrations. Now THIS was a real discovery!

Walking with Dinosaurs

I am very excited to announce that Walking with Dinosaurs will be appearing in San Antonio, Texas at the AT&T Center. The show runs November 4th thru the 8th, 2009. This is a very exciting event and I'm sure that anyone interested in prehistoric life will LOVE this show.

During the press conference, I worked with the San Antonio Spur's Coyote as we demonstrated how tall the Brachiosaurus was going to be. He was insanely fun to work with and the crowd seemed to enjoy his antics. Really funny guy.



I have heard from many of you asking if we have an update on my new show. The network told us that they would give us a "yes or no" answer before the 4th of July. So we are are anxiously awaiting the news. In speaking to some of the other networks we deal with, it appears that the current state of the economy has forced them to hold off making any long term commitments. So several of my shows are impacted by this. But hopefully things will turn around and get back on track. We'll see.

BTW, you can now follow me on Twitter - Twitter.com/DinosaurGeorge

Update on TV Show

Just a follow up to my previous post...

We are still working with the network to finalize the show concept and budget. We are close. Very close!

Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

I'll keep you all posted.

How to Sell a TV Show

Ever wonder how shows make it to the networks? I am currently working like crazy to sell a show that I created and I thought I would start to post some of the things that happen behind the scenes. So here is a short list of the steps it takes to get something on the air, and where I am with my show right now.

The Concept:
The first step in any show is creating the concept. You have to come up with something really interesting, that no one else has done yet. Now some people are very good at watching other shows, and then creating something around that particular concept. Nothing wrong with that, but copycat shows are not that interesting to me. So you have to be out there looking for ideas. In my line of business, something new always seem to come along. But you have to ask yourself if this "something new" is really that interesting to the general public. What paleontologists find amazing does not necessarily translate into the viewing public finding it interesting. For instance, the discovery of the worlds oldest mammal would be spectacularly interesting to me. But to the average "Joe" it won't be so important.
Once you feel that your idea is exciting and of interest, you proceed to the nest step.

The Outline:
You can't start pitching your show to the networks until you have a very clear picture of what the show will be about. Network execs have very little time to hear people throw out ideas that are not well thought out and clear. Clear, concise information is a must.
So you need to create an outline for your show. What is the topic, who are your experts, what is your research, where will you shoot this, will this be a 30 minute, 1 hour, 2 hour or a series.
Once you structure your show, then you are ready for step three.

The "One Page":
You can't expect to sit down with a network exec and have his/her attention for a few hours. These folks are bombarded daily with show ideas and concepts, so they have very limited time. That is where the "one page" comes into being. You need to take your outline and condense it down to the most vital parts of your show. The one page is basically used to "pitch" the show for the first time. You need an overview of the show, a mention of some of the most important experts, a clear message about why the show will be great, and details about running time (30 minutes, 60 minutes, 2 hours etc..) and information about animation, locations, etc.

Remember...this is probably THE most important thing in this process. You usually have one shot at an exec and you need to drive home the point that they should want this show for themselves!!! And be cautious about overusing words like "spectacular", "amazing", "best in the world" etc. Believe me....these people have seen and heard it all. Big promises must be backed up with facts, and the facts will speak for themselves. Now the next step.

The Pitch:
Ok, so you came up with your concept, created a good outline, wrote your "one page" and now you are ready to pitch it to a network exec. Here is the problem...because network folks are so busy, they usually won't take a pitch from anyone who they don't know. So you need to have a successful show or two under your belt just to get your foot in the door. But how do you get a successful show if you don't get to pitch your idea? The answer....hire someone who has a track record in the television industry. I work with television writer, Larry Weitzman who has written for a number of different networks .

But for now, let's just assume that you have your foot in the door and have been given the opportunity to pitch your concept. So this is where the quality of your one page is so vital. When the exec reads it, they should have a very clear idea about show concept. Then, hopefully, they will begin to ask you some questions about it. Listen to what they are saying and be prepared to make changes to your concept. Very, very few shows start off and finish the same way. The network execs know their audience and they know their business. So their advice can be important for you to hone your concept to fit the viewers. I'm not saying that you should cave in and be willing to change every aspect of the show. It could be that this particular network is not the right fit for the concept. There have been numerous times that I shared a show idea, only to have the network ask me to alter it so dramatically, it had nothing to do with my original idea.
If that happens, then you either rethink your concept, or graciously move on to another network.

The Callback:

Millions of shows are pitched every year, but only a handful ever makes it to the screen. So if you are lucky enough to have a network call you back to discuss your show, then you have made a huge step forward in your chances to see your idea come to fruition.

But now is when you need to be prepared for some major changes. Like I mentioned in the previous section, the networks have a firm grasp on their audience. They are going to want to insure that what you create is something that their viewers will want to watch. When you are dealing with science based stuff, like I do, then there are a lot of discussions that will be happening. Science can sometimes be boring stuff. The general population is not necessarily interested in intricate details of science, nor the detailed work that goes into what we learn from the scientists themselves. When I created Jurassic Fight Club, I was faced with some very difficult choices. The network wanted us to push the envelope of entertainment, while I was desperately fighting to keep the show factually based. We clashed heads more than once, I can tell you.

But I was given two options: try to force this show to remain scientifically accurate regardless of the entertainment value, or see this concept fall to wayside and the show never to be made. Once the show aired, I was criticized by various people within the Paleontological community. Most of them were people who had never worked on a television show before. They screamed and cried about how terrible the show was because it was not absolutely "scientifically" accurate. I can appreciate their concerns, but the problem is that NOTHING can be proven scientifically accurate in the world of Paleontology. No network is going to buy a show that spends it time telling the viewers that we really don’t have any answers about dinosaurs; only guesses. I can understand their points of view, but in the world of the average television audience, the viewers have no interest in the “down and dirty” parts of paleontology. They don’t care where you went to school, or how much of your life has been dedicated to studying the vertebral column of the prehistoric Indonesian honk-honk snake. They want to see a dinosaur and want to know how it lived.

I worked very hard to insure that those who appeared in my show we represented in a very positive and accurate light. I am very proud to say that not a single expert in the Jurassic Fight Club series had anything negative to say to me about the show, and the majority took the time to contact me to say they enjoyed it.

So if you get your foot in the door of a network, but they want some changes, this is where your negotiation skills come into play. You must be prepared to take a stand when it comes to the facts, but you must also be ready to work with the networks to create a more entertaining show. Remember…no one knows their viewers like THEY do!

The Negotiations:

And here is where I am today, 3-25-09 at 1:19 PM. We have been working closely with a major network on a show concept that we pitched several months ago.

I wrote the show outline.

Worked with Larry Weitzman to create the “One Page”

Larry pitched the show to the network

I've had numerous meetings with network execs to refine the concept

I wrote a new outline, gave them detailed information about my experts, gave them a complete overview of the show, and now………we are anxiously awaiting their final word.

The network execs have a meeting schedule for Thursday, tomorrow. It’s make or break time. Either they “green light” it. (That’s TV talk for purchase). Or they ask me to make alterations to it. Or they pass on it.

Whatever happens…..I’ll let you know.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!!!!!!

Tracking Dinosaurs

Fossilized footprints give us a unique look at prehistoric life in ways that we can't always get from fossilized bones. Footprints represent the living creature, whereas bones represent its death. Did you know that we find more dinosaur footprints than bones? It's true. And I guess when you think about it it makes sense. A dinosaur can leave only one set of bones in its lifetime, but that same dinosaur can leave hundreds, thousands and perhaps millions of footprints before it dies. That is why we find more tracks than bones.

So how are footprints preserved? Well, first the dinosaur must walk though mud, silt, clay and even volcanic ash that has the right consistency for a track to be formed. This sediment must be thin enough so that the dinosaurs weight causes the foot to sink in, but it must also be thick enough to prevent the sediment from falling back into the track and filling it again. Once the tracks are made, they need to remain undisturbed long enough for the sediment to dry and ultimately turned to stone.


Once the track has been formed, and the sediment has been turned to stone, we have a world of information that can give us clues into the behaviors of dinosaurs. Tracks can tell us how large the dinosaurs was, what family group it belonged to, what direction it was traveling, if it was alone or in a group, and they can even give us an estimate of the speed that the dinosaur was traveling. Most of this information cannot be gathered by bones. Remember, tracks represent the living dinosaur, and bones represent its death!

Although tracks give us some great insight into the dinosaur, the tracks do not tell us for certain "who" left them. But there are ways we can guess at who left the tracks. First we look at the size and shape of the track. That gives us a good idea as to the family of dinosaurs it belongs to. Different kinds of dinosaurs have different kinds of feet. For instance, Triceratops has a completely different foot than T-rex. And Edmontosaurus feet are totally different than the foot of a long necked sauropod, like Diplodocus. So figuring out what "family" the dinosaur track belongs too is sort of easy. But then trying to determine the exact species is more difficult. So in order to try and figure it out, we turn to fossilized bones!


We look at all of the different kinds of dinosaur species that have been in the same area or rock formation where we find the tracks. Once we figure out what species lived in that area, we can begin to narrow it down. So in other words, if we find a great big three toed dinosaur track in Cretaceous rock in Texas, then chances are pretty good that it could be Acrocanthosaurus! We cannot be absolutely sure that we have identified the right dinosaur, but at least we know that we are close!