The rise of human beings was largely due to luck.
What if we had come up a little earlier or other terrifying creatures had lasted longer?
Here are some extinct creatures that would destroy us if they were alive today.
If the demogorgon of Stranger Things haunts your nightmares, consider this: The gorgonops,
which shares a similar name and a similar reputation — and unlike the demogorgon,
actually existed.
According to scientists, this thing looked sort of like a cross between a dog and a komodo
dragon and could reach roughly 10 feet in length, with huge canine teeth like a sabre-toothed
cat.
It was also thought to be fast on its feet, and its enormous canines would have been well-equipped
to tear through the thick hides of most of the herbivores that lived at the time.
So how would this creature change our world if it still lived today?
Well, it probably would have eaten you before you got to this point in the video — and
even Eleven couldn't have saved you.
Who doesn't love snakes?
“Snakes.
Why'd it have to be snakes?"
Okay, so a lot of people don't like snakes, especially gigantic snakes like the anaconda,
which can grow to around 17 feet long and 550 pounds.
Pretty scary, right?
Well, not compared to the titanoboa!
Measuring 42 feet long and weighing in at over 2,500 pounds, this thing was so big that
according to The Smithsonian, if you stood next to one of these things it would come
up to your waist — but only until it ate you.
So let's imagine what life would be like if this creature were roaming the suburbs.
We wouldn't have cats anymore, or dogs, or horses ... or probably circus elephants either.
That would be worrisome, except we'd be too busy passing through its digestive system
to worry about anything else.
If you're a fan of Discovery Channel, you're probably familiar with the megalodon thanks
to patently bogus mockumentaries like The Monster Shark Lives.
Spoiler alert: it doesn't actually live anymore, which is a good thing, because if it did,
we'd all be chum.
"it's a megalodon!"
And not just us: it would eat seals and walruses and it would laugh in the face of dolphins
and then eat them, and then it would eat boats and lighthouses and airplanes and whatever
the hell else it wanted to eat.
It wouldn't all be bad news, though, as it would give Jason Statham plenty of stuff to
do.
So… we'll call that one a wash.
The Birds is one of the most terrifying movies ever made.
But even Hitchcock couldn't dream up something as scary as the actual terror bird.
Officially known as the Phorusrhacidae, these flightless birds were basically just feathered,
beaked velociraptors only without the charm and good looks.
The terror bird became South America's top predator and reigned for nearly 60 million
years.
And they weren't just fast and vicious: they were also big.
One of the largest of these nightmarish creatures was Titanis, which was nearly 10 feet tall,
had a top speed of around 43 mph, and could snap the leg of a cow with its enormous feet
. Oh, and it could also literally peck your head off.
Just imagine the mess we'd have if these things were still wandering around the Earth!
Crocodiles are one of the few creatures that actually eat human beings.
We may think wolves and tigers are scary, man-eating beasts but it's pretty darn rare
to hear about someone actually getting eaten by one of those.
Crocodiles, on the other hand, are thought to be responsible for a thousand deaths per
year according to the World Crocodilian Attack Database.
The fact that such a thing even exists pretty much tells the whole story.
The biggest contemporary crocodile can grow up to 23 feet long and weigh more than a ton.
That sounds pretty bad, but it's nothing compared to Sarcosuchus — better known as SuperCroc
— which could reach lengths of 40 feet and may have weighed more than 10 tons!
Now, scientists do think that Sarcosuchus probably ate fish for the most part, so it
may not have posed a big threat to humans — except, of course, all those humans who
go fishing.
Gives a whole new meaning to Deadliest Catch, doesn't it?
Bigfoot is so elusive he evidently doesn't poop and disintegrates when he dies, and occasionally
puts bear DNA in his hair samples just to confuse everyone who wastes their time and
money looking for him.
But if you don't find him, at least you can buy plenty of T-shirts and coffee mugs and
fridge magnets that will at least let your friends know you gave it your best shot.
So what would the Bigfoot industry look like today if the very real Gigantopithecus still
roamed the Earth?
According to National Geographic, this huge primate was 10 feet tall and weighed more
than half a ton.
It thrived in the warm tropical forests of China for around 6 to 9 million years, then
the last ice age rolled around and Gigantopithecus died out because, as the climate changed and
forests gave way to savannas, there wasn't enough food to maintain a large population
of calorie-hungry beasts of gigantic proportions.
Sorry, King Kong!
If only there had been more titanoboas to feed on!
Fortunately, our huge hairy cousin did the smart thing — it caught a boat to southern
Oregon and set up camp in the woods where it learned to emulate the haunting yet melodic
call of the reality television producer.
Just kidding!
It did no such thing and neither did any other primate.
Sorry, Harry!
"There are no abominable snowmen.
There are no sasquatches.
There are no bigfeet!"
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