-We're going to go face-to-face with a real, live dinosaur right here at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the infamous... B-rex.
-Did you say the T-rex?
-No.
B-rex.
-Oh, you mean the Balaenicipididae.
Right over there, the shoebill.
-Well, yes, but I promise they are just as cool as any dinosaur that ever roamed the Mesozoic Era.
Go on.
Take a closer look.
♪♪ Even though this bird doesn't share the enormous size or strength of the T-rex, it's still an intimidating predator.
It has a razor-sharp beak, wings that can stretch well over seven feet long, and a trademark menacing glare that seems almost impenetrable.
♪♪ -We are really fortunate here at the Safari Park to have a modern-day dinosaur, the shoebill.
Oftentimes people think they're a robot, but it's a real bird, and the shoebill is really unique.
They get the name for this giant beak structure that they have.
It's not just any beak.
And, you know, you can tell a lot about a bird's behavior and what they eat by the shape of the beak.
And this particular bird gets the name for the whale-like beak structure that it has, almost like a giant shoe, actually, and that's why they get the name "shoebill."
And in fact, even in Egyptian times, these birds were given a name, "Abu-Markhub" which actually means "father of the slipper."
So there's a lot of connections with that shape of that beak with this particular bird species.
♪♪ Being a really modern-day dinosaur, this bird will stalk its prey.
It will blend into its environment in those swamplands and wait for that perfect opportunity to ambush with the giant shoebill coming out and grabbing it prey, whether it be a lungfish, a catfish, even.
They've even known to eat baby crocodiles.
That is a bird eating a crocodile!
♪♪ You know, it's amazing how many connections you can find with modern-day dinosaurs of today with the dinosaurs of yore.
You see a lot of similarities with certain adaptations.
For instance, feathers.
There's a lot of evidence of certain dinosaur species showcasing that feather for breeding purposes, for maturity as well, so that's definitely a direct link.
And of course, you can't deny the scales on the birds as well.
You look at those long legs of a shoebill stork as they're perusing through that marshland, those wide feet and all those scales covering their legs and their feet, very similar to the dinosaurs of the past, as we can see.
There's also evidence of certain bone structures being similar -- pelvic bone with certain dinosaur species, with birds of today as well.
So we're definitely working with modern-day dinosaurs.
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