The Southern African sky was dark and heavy with clouds, threatening to unleash its annual rains upon the land below. As the first drops began to fall, the dry, cracked earth quickly turned into a maze of narrow channels, creating a swamp forest. It was in this swamp forest that a giant pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, had chosen to make her nest. She was a female, her wings spanning over 30 feet, making her the second largest flying animals that had ever lived on Planet Earth, only losing to Hatzegopteryx. But her size was not her only remarkable feature. She was also pregnant. And it was for this reason that she had come to the swamp forest.

The female quetzalcoatlus had carefully chosen the location of her nest, on damp, swampy soil that would prevent her soft-shelled eggs from drying out. With great effort and energy, she had laid the first two eggs, and for the next three weeks, she would guard the open nest and add two more eggs every few days. The production of these eggs took a toll on Quetzalcoatlus, each one weighing around a kilo. After three weeks, drained by the effort of laying a dozen eggs, she was in need of a meal. She left her nest, carefully covering it with some vegetation before setting off in search of food. She would spend the next few months protecting the remaining eggs, braving the harsh weather and any threats that came her way. And when the eggs finally hatched, she leave her offspring to fend for themselves.