Jurassic Park: Fourth Iteration: The Park (II) Summary & Analysis

Huddled in the tree with Lex and Tim, Grant suddenly finds himself face to face with a hadrosaur grazing on the foliage. This encounter, perhaps more than any other on the island, moves him, since he studies the fossils of these dinosaurs in Montana. The dinosaur doesn’t react to his presence, so he concludes she can’t smell him. She does respond when he coughs loudly, but unless he’s moving, she doesn’t seem to see him. And after just a minute or two, she seems to forget about his presence. After the dinosaur ambles off, Grant, Lex, and Tim climb down from the tree. Although Lex doesn’t want to walk among the dinosaurs anymore, Grant doesn’t know how else they can get back to the resort. Tim helpfully points out that the maintenance building has a raft. 

In the control room, Arnold begins an exhaustive visual search of the island for the Jeep that Nedry stole. Muldoon insists on recovering the weapons. He watches as the monitor clicks through the park’s visual feeds in order, until Hammond summons him to the genetics lab.

In the park, it takes some time for Grant to locate the raft, which lies in a separate shed attached to a dock in the lagoon. But in the process, he also acquires a topographical map of the island and a tranquilizer gun. As they approach the dock, he, Lex, and Tim hear snoring. The tyrannosaur, full after its hadrosaur feast, sits in the shade of a tree, fast asleep. Signaling the children to stay still and silent, Grant tiptoes past the dinosaur. He deploys one of the rafts, and although the dinosaur startles, it doesn’t wake up. They climb aboard and begin to drift silently into the lagoon. But then Lex coughs, waking up the beast.

Grant rows the boat into the center of the lagoon, but the tyrannosaur follows them. Once it walks past the shallows, it uses its powerful tail to swim through the water like the world’s largest and most deadly crocodile. It lunges at the raft, narrowly missing it. In desperation, Grant shoots a tranquilizer dart; although it strikes the dinosaur on the cheek, it has no real effect. But just then, the juvenile tyrannosaur comes upon the carcass of the hadrosaur and lets out a roar, attempting to claim the kill for itself. The adult, intent on protecting its rightful prey, splashes back to shore. As it retreats, Lex taunts it. Angry and exhausted, Grant throws down the paddles in consternation, but, caught in the river’s current, the trio continues to drift back towards the resort.