Alligators are large reptiles and members of the order Crocodylia. The two existing species of alligators and the many worldwide species of crocodiles are closely related, and people often confuse one with the other.

An alligator is distinguished by its wide, rounded snout and black color. When an alligator rests with its jaws closed, only its upper teeth are visible. Crocodiles, on the other hand, have narrow, pointed snouts, a grey-green color and both upper and lower teeth visible when the animal's mouth is closed, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
Crocodiles and alligators rarely overlap in range, so another way to tell them apart is to know where you are. American alligators, which live across the southern U.S., only overlap with American crocodiles at the southern tip of Florida, according to National Geographic. Chinese alligators are the only crocodilian anywhere near their range.

he American alligator can grow up to 11.2 feet (3.4 meters) long and weigh nearly half a ton (1,000 lbs. or 454 kilograms), according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Chinese alligators are smaller, growing to around 4.6 to 4.9 feet (1.4 to 1.5 m) long and usually weighing only around 50 lbs. (22.7 kg).

https://youtu.be/t3lhDgpQ2jM

India is the best destination to spot tiger in India.  With 2997 tigers in the wild it is a Paradise for Tiger lovers.  The 3 best places to see tigers in India are:


1. Kanha National Park:

Land of the Deer and Tiger

• Best time of the year to visit Kanha National Park : October to June
• Type of Safari at Kanha National Park : Jeep Safari and Walking trails
• How to get to Kanha : 04 hour drive from Raipur Airport or 05 hours from Jabalpur Airport or 6.5 hours from Nagpur Airport
• How many nights to spend at Kanha : 04 nights
  

• Wildlife to see at Kanha : Tiger, Barasingha or Hard Ground Swamp Deer, Indian Wild Dog, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Gaur, Chinkara or Indian Blackbuck, Barking Deer.
• Birds to see at Kanha : Emerald Dove, White-rumped Shama, Indian Scimitar Babbler, Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, Scarlet Minivet, Rosy Minivet, Verditer Flycatcher, Crested Hawk Eagle, Indian Vulture, White-rumped Vulture.
  

 
One associates Central India with being a water-stricken and rather hot area – however the opposite holds true for Kanha. Chilled winters, availability of water around the year and coolness in the early morning and evening  in peak summer characterise the uniqueness of this place.
Being in the tribal belt of South-eastern Madhya Pradesh, it has retained its rich old forest tracts which forms corridors for animals, especially migrating tigers, to other forests in Madhya Pradesh such as Pench as well as sanctuaries such as Achanakmar in Chattisgarh. Without these corridors, the medium to long-term survival of tigers hangs in the balance.
Kanha Tiger Reserve is spread over 2200 sq.km and maintains a core area of 940 sq.km – it has between 80 to 100 tigers in the wild. Kanha National Park is also distinguished by its moist deciduous forest dominated by old and towering Sal trees and its famous meadows where the critically endangered Hard Ground Swamp Deer or “Barasingha” has its last stronghold.
These large deer have their rutting or mating season in winter and their magnificent winter coats and the beautifully decorated “Bara singh” or twelve-tined antlers are a treat to behold.
During a tiger safari in Kanha National Park one can hope to see large yet elusive tigers walking on the jeep tracks as they traverse through the comparatively more comfortable road to announce their presence. Interestingly, it is the best place to also spot Male Tigers in the wild in India.
Birding is fantastic here, with species such as the Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo, Scarlet Minivet, Crested Hawk Eagle, Emerald Dove and Rufous Woodpecker catching the eye amongst 350+species recorded here.


2. Bandhavgarh National Park:

[color=var( --e-global-color-text )]Of Forts and Legendary Tigers
[/color]

• Best time of the year to visit Bandhavgarh National Park : October to June
• Type of Safari at Bandhavgarh National Park : Jeep Safari
• How to get to Bandhavgarh : 3.5 hours from Jabalpur Airport
• How many nights to spend at Bandhavgarh : 04 nights
  

• Wildlife to see at Bandhavgarh : Tiger, Leopard, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Gaur.
• Birds to see at Bandhavgarh : Indian Vulture, Brown Fish Owl, White-rumped Vulture, Red-headed Vulture, Indian Golden Oriole, Jungle Bush Quail, Indian Paradise Flycatcher.
  

 
Bandhavgarh is rightfully the most popular place to see a Tiger on safari. A famous hunting reserve for the Maharajas who ruled these lands, this area has to this day been preserved for shooting wildlife – with cameras. Come take a Tiger Safari with us at Bandhavgarh.
An almost isolated park, it has a very few migration routes for dispersed male tigers looking to find a home for themselves, hence, along with suitable habitat and prey-base, it has retained a high density of tigers. Around 60 or so wild tigers survive here today.
The Tiger Reserve is spread over 1100 sq.km with a core area of about 440 sq.km.
A safari experience here, with enthusiastic guides and drivers is a thrilling experience – the routes taken by the tigers of old are taken to this day by their offspring and one can learn about tracking these tigers through the eyes of the locals.
This landscape is dominated by Sal and Bamboo forest, however its beauty is shines at Tala Zone with its famous grasslands, surrounded almost entirely by large hills whereupon old Forts, Temples and Watchtowers have been erected – dating back to 10th century AD.
There is also the famous 60 foot statue of the sleeping Lord Vishnu in the middle of Tala Zone –  a sight of tranquility in the tranquil forest.
The forests, though dominated by Sal Trees such as those at Kanha and Corbett, is much drier and this is evident from February onwards moving into summer. There is a good mix of scrub forest as well.
Though many might scoff at the idea of bird watching here, Bandhavgarh is an excellent birding destination with good visibility of birds. It has a very good population of the vultures such as the critically endangered Indian Vulture and White-rumped Vulture which roost along the cliffs. The Indian paradise flycatcher, Golden Oriole, Indian Pitta as well as the sight of the not so common White-capped Bunting can be enjoyed here. Hence a tiger safari tour is not complete without experiencing all that Bandhavgarh has to offer.

3. Tadoba National Park:

Jewel of the Vidarbha

• Best time of the year to visit Tadoba National Park : October to June
• Type of Safari at Tadoba National Park : Jeep Safari
• How to get to Tadoba : 2.5 hours from Nagpur Airport
• How many nights to spend at Tadoba : 04 nights
  

• Wildlife to see at Tadoba : Tiger, Leopard, Golden Jackal, Sloth Bear, Gaur.
• Birds to see at Tadoba : Spotted Owlet, Brown Fish Owl, White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, Black-hooded Oriole, White-throated Kingfisher, Indian Paradise Flycatcher.
  

 

Slowly creeping up to the stature of Bandhavgarh as the go-to National Park for Tiger-centric tourists, Tadoba is burgeoning with tourism and as a result, bold Tigers who are less reserved about the multitude of eyes watching them from their jeeps.

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, located in the state of Maharashtra, is around 1700 sq km in size and is dominated by Teak trees. The core area is 625 sq.km. with tiger population crossing a very healthy 80 tigers!

Here, Sloth Bears and Leopards are seen in good frequency as well.
The dry deciduous forest has good visibility around the year and large, strategically-built watering holes become an almost permanent fixture for Tigers as the temperature easily hits the mid-40’s(degrees Celsius) during the summer.

Deinonychus (from Greek: deinós, 'terrible' and ónux, 'claw') is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur with one described species, Deinonychus antirrhopus. This species, which could grow up to 3.4 meters (11 ft) long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period, about 115–108 million years ago (from the mid-Aptian to early Albian stages). Fossils have been recovered from the U.S. states of Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and Oklahoma, in rocks of the Cloverly Formation, Cedar Mountain Formation and Antlers Formation, though teeth that may belong to Deinonychus have been found much farther east in Maryland.
Based on the few fully mature specimens, Deinonychus could reach 3 meters in length, with a skull estimated at 41 cm, a hip height of 87 cm, and a weight estimated at 70 kg. The proportionally large skull was equipped with powerful jaws lined with around seventy curved, blade-like teeth. Both the skull and the lower jaw had fenestrae (skull openings) which reduced the weight of the skull. In Deinonychus, the antorbital fenestra, a skull opening between the eye and nostril, was particularly large.
Deinonychus possessed large, well developed forelimbs and "hands" (manus) with three fingers and very sharp claws on each hand. The first digit was shortest and the second was longest. The hindlimbs were robust and powerful, with each hind foot bearing a particularly large sickle-shaped claw on the second digit - the animal's namesake - that was probably used during predation. No feather impressions have ever been found in association with fossils of Deinonychus, but related taxa like Microraptor, Velociraptor, and Dakotaraptor preserve evidence of feathers so it is very likely that Deinonychus had them too.
Deinonychus' lower leg length was not particularly long for its femur length, indicating that while being far from slow-moving, it was not especially adapted for running on a regular basis. This is partially attributable to an unusually short metatarsus (upper foot bones). The ratio is actually larger in smaller individuals than in larger ones. John Ostrom, the scientist who named Deinonychus, suggested that the short metatarsus may be related to the function of the sickle claw, and used the fact that it appears to get shorter as individuals aged as support for this. He interpreted all these features—the short second toe with enlarged claw, short metatarsus, etc.—as support for the use of the hind leg as an offensive weapon, where the sickle claw would strike downwards and backwards, and the leg pulled back and down at the same time, slashing and tearing at the prey. Ostrom suggested that the short metatarsus reduced overall stress on the leg bones during such an attack, and interpreted the unusual arrangement of muscle attachments in the Deinonychus leg as support for his idea that a different set of muscles was used in the predatory stroke than in walking or running. Therefore, Ostrom concluded that the legs of Deinonychus represented a balance between running adaptations needed for an agile predator, and stress-reducing features to compensate for its unique foot weapon.

Puertasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous Period, only known from a single specimen recovered from sedimentary rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, Argentina. These rocks probably are Campanian to Maastrichtian in age (from 80-65 million years ago), making Puertasaurus one of the youngest giant sauropods.
The only species is Puertasaurus reuili. Described by the paleontologist Fernando Novas and colleagues in 2005, it was named in honor of Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered and prepared the specimen. It consists of four well-preserved vertebrae, including one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. Puertasaurus is a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous.
Although there is no doubt that Puertasaurus was one of the largest known dinosaurs, its size is very difficult to estimate because good material is lacking. Novas estimated it to be more than 35 meters long and weigh between 80,000-100,000 kg. This would place it as significantly larger than Argentinosaurus, famous for also being very large by dinosaur standards. In 2012, Thomas Holtz estimated Puertasaurus to have been potentially 30 meters long and 72,500-80,000 kg.
In 2013, the entire neck was estimated to have been approximately 9 meters long by Mike Taylor and Matt Wedel. Later the same year, Scott Hartman made a reconstruction that suggested a shorter total length than other estimates, at 27 meters. But this reconstruction still suggested a very large animal, with his estimate possibly indicating a size up to 70,000 kg. In 2016, Gregory S. Paul estimated a length of 30 meters or more and a weight of 50,000 kg or more. In 2017, paleontologist José Carballido and his colleagues estimated its mass at roughly 60,000 kg. In 2019, Gregory S. Paul estimated the mass of Puertasaurus to be in the size range of its relative Patagotitan at 45,000-55,000 kg.
The largest of the four preserved bones is the dorsal vertebra, which at 1.68 meters (5 ft 6 in) wide is the broadest known vertebra of any sauropod, indicating a very robust torso. When Puertasaurus was alive, the Cerro Fortaleza Formation would have been a humid, forested landscape. Puertasaurus would have shared its habitat with other dinosaurs, including another large sauropod, Dreadnoughtus, in addition to other reptiles and fish.

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Euoplocephalus (meaning 'well armored head', in reference to its heavily armored skull) is a genus of very large, herbivorous or omnivorous ankylosaurian dinosaurs, living during the Late Cretaceous of Canada. It has only one named species, Euoplocephalus tutus.
The first fossil of Euoplocephalus was found in 1897 in Alberta. In 1902, it was named Stereocephalus, but that name had already been given to an insect, so it was changed in 1910. Later, many more ankylosaurid remains were found from the Campanian of North America and often made separate genera. In 1971, Walter Coombs concluded that they all belonged to Euoplocephalus which then would be one of the best-known dinosaurs. Recently however, experts have come to the opposite conclusion, limiting the authentic finds of Euoplocephalus to about a dozen specimens. Many are almost complete skeletons, so much is nevertheless known about the build of the animal. 
Some of these specimens have been estimated at 5 meters long and 2300 kg by Gregory S. Paul. Its body was low-slung and very flat and wide, standing on four sturdy legs. Its head had a short drooping snout with a horny beak to bite off plants (and probably small or dead animals as well) that were digested in the large gut. Like other ankylosaurids, Euoplocephalus was largely covered by bony armor plates, among them rows of large high-ridged oval scutes. The neck was protected by two bone rings. It could also actively defend itself against predators like Gorgosaurus using a heavy club at the end of its tail, being able to produce forces easily strong enough to shatter bone.

https://scitechdaily.com/new-biomechanical-model-shows-tyrannosaurus-rex-walked-surprisingly-slowly/

https://www.livescience.com/t-rex-slow-walker-tail.html


As the title of the topic says, a new study published on April 21, 2021 shows newer estimates on how fast a Tyrannosaurus might of was. Earlier estimates (Sellers 2017) had not taken fully into account the role of the T. rex's tail - which makes up more than half its length. Pasha Van Bijlert, is the lead author of this new study on Tyrannosaurus locomotion which is published in the Journal Royal Society Open Science. Sellers 2017 bio-mechanic study had it's issues treating the Tyrannosaurus legs as if they were graviportal, posing them in a columnar manner. However, the limbs of Tyrannosaurus were not built to be graviportal, those are the legs of a cursorial animal. The research team calculated a step rhythm from a computer model of a Tyrannosaurus tail, based on Trix, an adult 12-meter-long (39-foot-long) Tyrannosaurus fossil at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, a museum of natural history and research center in the Netherlands. The scientists then multiplied the step rhythm by the step length found in fossilized tracks for an estimated baseline walking speed of 2.86 miles per hour. This is a far cry from the proposed 11-12mph brisk walking estimates from William Sellers 2017 study. Pasha Van Bijert said:
 

"Animals tend to prefer walking speeds at which, for a given distance, energy cost is minimal. They do this choosing specific step rhythms at which their body parts resonate. Since the entire tail of T. rex is suspended by ligaments, which behave like rubber bands, we reconstructed this tail to investigate at which step rhythm the tail of T. rex would resonate. The entire tail, by our reconstruction at almost 1,000 kilos, was really just a mass supported by a rubber band and with every step it would slightly bounce up and down. With the right rhythm you get a lot of movement for very little effort. Our baseline model had a preferred walking speed of 2.86 mph [4.6 km/h], which was significantly slower than earlier estimates of walking speed. Depending on some of the assumptions regarding the ligaments and how the vertebrae rotate, you get slightly slower or faster speeds (1.79 to 3.67 mph [2.88 to 5.9 km/h]), but across the board, they're all slower than earlier estimates"


This makes me question whether or not adult sized Tyrannosaurus were capable of hunting or not. I was firm to believe that prey such as Triceratops or Ankylosaurus were just as slow but with these newer estimates I'm doubting that adult sized Tyrannosaurus did hunt. Even though the risks of hunting such prey were too high, Triceratops or Ankylosaurus were not the first thing they would go for. The size of Tyrannosaurus brain is, rather unsurprisingly, quite small in proportion to its body. But it's not its total size I'm referring to. It's the proportions of the brain itself. It's no secret that the largest portion of the brain is the olfactory lobe, the part of the brain devoted to scent processing. This new study definitely ignites evidence that adult Tyrannosaurus relied on scavenging rather than hunting compared to the juvenile ones, where speed is not that big of an issue. Finding enough dead carcasses can be rather difficult, but rotting meat can carry a scent for miles in any direction. If your a scavenger, like an old world vulture shall we say, all you have to do is point, and fly, or in T. Rex's case walk, to the source of the smell. Couldn't be easier. Also as a small point, while Old World vultures use smell to find carcasses, New World vultures often rely on their eyesight. Now we know Tyrannosaurus had some really good eyesight, so perhaps young Tyrannosaurus used it to hunt, but as they got older it could've shifted to find carcasses. Just a thought. (Credit goes to vcubestudios for the information)

A new thread dedicated just to the king as they are a species different from the rest.

The king will get you anywhere even atop trees:

This is a thread about intraspecific conflict in tigers.