Monday, September 26, 2011

Fake Crocodiles! Or are they Alligators?

Photos of the fake Alligators (or are they Crocodiles?) that we have spotted on our travels around many Miniature Golf courses in the UK and overseas.

While in Las Vegas I spotted a number of fake Crocodiles (or are they Alligators) and realised that this year I’ve seen a few on my travels, including some real ones at the Crocodile Enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, Cambridgeshire.

A BIG scary fake Crocodile at Fort Fun Adventure Golf in Eastbourne

It got me thinking, as I don’t know the difference between a Crocodile and an Alligator, and as an avid quiz fan I really ought to!

A quick search online led me to some information on the ever reliable Wikipedia, which shows that the main differences are:

• Alligators prefer freshwater
• Crocodiles can better tolerate seawater
• But both Alligators and Crocodiles can survive in either
• Alligators are darker in colour than Crocodiles, often nearly black
• Alligators have wider and shorter heads than Crocodiles
• Alligator’s heads are more u-shaped than a Crocodiles v-shaped head
• Alligator’s upper jaws are wider than their lower jaws
• Alligator’s teeth in the lower jaw fit into small depressions in the upper jaw
• Crocodile’s teeth fit together, as the upper and lower jaws are the same width
• Crocodiles have a jagged fringe on the hind legs and feet
• Alligators have webbed toes on their hind feet
• Crocodiles are more aggressive than Alligators

An animatronic Crocodile (v-shaped head) at the MGM Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

A big fake Alligator (that looks more like a Crocodile) at the Alligator Bar at The Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

A fake Crocodile (I think) at the Outback Steakhouse at Casino Royale in Las Vegas

A fake Crocodile tried to take a bite out of me at the Adventure Golf Course at Fort Fun in Eastbourne!

More photos of Alligators, or Crocodiles, spotted on our travels around and on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
The Crocodile at Barry Island's Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf

A close-up of the Barry Island's Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf Croc

Getting a bit too close to the fake croc

A very unrealistic and unscary looking Crocodile at Great Yarmouth's Pleasure Beach Adventure Golf

A snap of the Crocodile at Lowestoft's East Point Family Golf

Richard, the Croc and Emily

Not a Crocodile or an Alligator, but a Hippo - oddly this was in the water at Bottons Pleasure Beach Gold Mine Adventure Golf in Skegness, there was no sign of any Crocodiles or Alligators there, but the setting looked like there should've been!

Links:

16 comments:

Richard Gottfried said...

Me and another fake Crocodile! Or is it an Alligator. This time at an Amusement Arcade in Hastings, East Sussex.

Richard Gottfried said...

On our revisit to the Treasure Island Adventure Golf courses in Southsea we spotted a couple of fake Crocs/Alligators!

Richard Gottfried said...

There was a big metal fake Crocodile or Alligator on the Crazy Golf course at West Sands Holiday Park in Selsey.

Richard Gottfried said...

In yesterday's Metro newspaper there was a 'Five-minute Academy' piece in the Life Skills Section by Badaude on 'How to escape an alligator.'

The cartoon diagram does say that the "same goes for crocodiles - probably..."

Richard Gottfried said...

The 101st and 102nd courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour were at Tynemouth's Lost World Adventure Golf and looking through our photo archive recently I spotted that while we were there back in June 2009 we also spotted some fake Crazy Golf Crocodiles, or Alligators, on the course!

Photos:
- Me Putting and a fake Crocodile, or Alligator, at Tynemouth's Lost World Adventure Golf
- Another fake Crocodile, or Alligator, at Tynemouth's Lost World Adventure Golf
- This fake Crocodile, or Alligator, at Tynemouth's Lost World Adventure Golf will eat your minigolf ball!

Richard Gottfried said...

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the two Adventure Golf courses at Bluewater's Pirate Cove Adventure Park we spotted three more Crazy Golf Crocodiles/Adventure Golf Alligators.

1

2

3

4

Richard Gottfried said...

Another fake Alligators/Crocodiles on Crazy Golf courses blog post: More Fake Crocodiles & Alligators - Bluewater, New Malden & Milton Keynes

Richard Gottfried said...

With Putter Fingers currently running an online Crazy Golf 'Spot The Ball' contest I happened to spot a terrible terrible twitpic image I posted back in April 2011 in a twitter conversation I was having about #SpotTheMinigolfBall with @MiniGolfOllie and @TardisType40. It just so happens the pic has an Alligator/Crocodile on it too!?

Richard Gottfried said...

I saw on BBC Look East's news that the Crocodile sculpture at Johnson's of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon has been stolen!

Richard Gottfried said...

I've heard via the Illawarra Golf Complex Facebook page that their Putt Putt Miniature Golf course in Australia has got a Crocodile (or possibly an Alligator) on it. And a Hippo!

Check the course out at Illawarra Golf Complex - Putt Putt

There's a Minigolf Windmill on the course too!

Richard Gottfried said...

On our recent trip to Somerset we visited some Miniature Golf courses in Brean and managed to spot (and play) some Alligator/Crocodile obstacles/props. Check out the snaps below:

Another Alligator (or is it a Crocodile) spotted on a Minigolf course! This one was at Brean's Indoor Crazy Golf.

Me and the Crocodile (or is it an Alligator) at Brean's Leisure Dome Indoor Crazy Golf course.

Spot the Alligators/Crocodiles on the Congo Adventure Golf course at Brean Leisure Park?

Securely behind the safety fence at Brean Leisure Park's Congo Adventure Golf!

Richard Gottfried said...

While recently playing the Temple Ruins course on a revisit to Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester's Trafford Centre I spotted a Crocodile (or perhaps it was an Alligator) lurking on top of some rocks!

Another one for the 'collection' of Alligators/Crocodiles at Miniature Golf courses!

Richard Gottfried said...

Another Minigolf 'obstacle/decoration' to add to the "Fake Crocodiles! Or are they Alligators?" blog list - a fake baby crocodile/little alligator spotted at the Magical Golf FX indoor Minigolf course at Mannings Amusements in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

Richard Gottfried said...

Having a twitter chatter about 'haunted' minigolf courses with The Putting Penguin and A Couple of Putts I rewatched a video from a visit to the King Putt Henderson indoor Mini Golf course in Las Vegas and noticed there's an Alligator (or Crocodile) lurking at the course!

Richard Gottfried said...

We spotted a lot of Crazy Golf Crocodiles in Surrey (or Adventure Golf Alligators in Woking and Epsom).

Richard Gottfried said...

There's an amazing animatronic adventure golf alligator at The Lost City in Nottingham.