Kaprosuchus

The Kaprosuchus, (Kap-roe-soo-kuss) or simply Kapro or Gator, is one of the creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved. A toothy, purple swamp terror waiting to fling you off your ride.

Behavior
Like the larger Sarcosuchus, the Kaprosuchus will swim around in the swamp regions (or their spawn locations on the Center or Scorched) attacking different creatures of prey. They are difficult to spot usually due to the density of the trees, especially if mounted, not including Scorched Earth, where they should be easier to spot if you are perched high enough on a rock or ledge, or while mounted on a flier. If the Kaprosuchus is aggroed, it will attempt to lunge at you and, if successful in its attack, will forcibly drag you from your mount and proceed to bite the powerless player in its jaws, until death from either party unless the player uses a whip to release themselves. Its attacks can drain stamina, which will make fighting it difficult when doing it solo, or even in groups of two without strong enough tames. It is worth noting that in the Scorched Earth map, Kaprosuchus relies on an entirely different yet almost more effective hunting strategy than other maps, waiting in the very few shaded areas and small ponds available. Dispite the fact that players and creatures know they're almost certainly there, sometimes even in plain sight, the desperation for water and relief from the heat is often enough to justify the risk, making them easy food for the kapros as their prey willingly comes to them. Whether their various behaviors and success result from environmental luck or an unexpected intelligence, there is no doubt they can use the environment to thier advantage better than nearly any other creature, to deadly effect.

Appearance
The Kaprosuchus bears a strong resemblance to its much larger relative, the Sarcosuchus, but still has distinct traits. It has long legs built for sprinting after land-based prey that escape its initial ambush as well as tusk-like fangs, earning it the nickname "Boar-Croc". Its hind legs are slightly longer than its front, giving it a very distinct gait and its head is smaller and more narrow than its crocodilian relative, with a small, more rectangular snout. It also has a back hump while the Sarcosuchus has a long tail. They are often lighter in color, usually a pale, purpleish gray vs the blacks and dark greens their larger counterparts, but not always.

It has two long teeth on its lower jaw. It also doesn't bear the long, flat scales on the tail that are found on later crocodiles.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Kaprosuchus.

General
Kaprosuchus is an incredibly deadly adversary. To even a player moderately progressed, this assassin of the swamps can prove an extreme threat unless you're prepared, being able to snatch you right off your mount.

Strategy
Keep an eye open when traveling the swamps for Kaprosuchus, and attempt to avoid them at all costs if you wish to simply avoid conflict. Pounce will be used at mid range. Either intercept the attack, or dodge it. A strong mount, provided you've stayed on your creature, can wipe them out with little effort, due to their low Health stat.

Weaponry
A strong melee weapon, such as a pike or sword, or powerful gun is what you'll need to free yourself once the Kaprosuchus grabs you.

Shields can block its leap attack and nullify its grab.

Dangers
The Kaprosuchus' stamina-draining attacks and high power can make its attack fatal. Beware traveling in murky or dark parts of the swamp, or at night, as the cover may allow the Kaprosuchus to sneak close without you noticing and open you up to a surprise pounce. Depending on the size of your mount, it can rip you from your mount causing damage while dragging you away. If your mount runs out of stamina from the initial strike or is unable to free you, you might be as good as dead. One option to free yourself from its grip is to hit it with a bola. Killing it or knocking it out while in its jaws are the only other ways to escape its deadly grasp.

The Kaprosuchus is more of a threat in Water due to Shields being rendered unusable while swimming.

Weakness
It's not a terribly fast opponent and if it misses a pounce, there's not much it can do other than go into standard melee. Luckily the Kaprosuchus is more of a glass cannon, having around 1,000 health even at higher levels when tamed. It's fairly frail, so several strong attacks and you can easily free yourself. They also have a relatively lower torpor level compared to other animals, so a few tranq arrows can not only allow you to escape it, but leave it unconscious for a tame.

KO Strategy
Kaprosuchus is one of the most powerful tames for beginners and serves as a decent guardian to yourself and your herd, and having a pack of 2-3 can safeguard you from predators like Utahaptors and Baryonyx. But taming one is incredibly tricky, considering their aggression and their dangerous habitat. It's recommended to have a small number of tough tamed animals with you, like Carbonemys, in case something goes wrong. But make sure any tames you have are at a distance and within your whistling range. Wait for a Kapro to come close to you and try to draw it in. The difficulties with these are the likely odds of being attacked by another Kaprosuchus, as they usually travel in packs. They can kill you or your tames could kill them along with the one you are trying to tame. Try to select a location with little walking interference, with plenty of space for your current tames and you to walk around, and while taming your Kaprosuchus be sure to safeguard him/her from predators. If you're alone, a rocky area or cliff will protect you from other threats. If all goes well, no other predators will interfere and your current tames will be silent, then you got yourself a killing machine. Feel free to try this without your tames and with a powerful weapon like the metal pick/hatchet to fend of other predators. Having one or two strong tames like Carbonemys, Iguanodon, or Triceratops would be beneficial to protect you from any other threats, and quickly change their attack settings if they hurt your Kaprosuchus.

Another strategy is to use a mindwipe tonic, then pump up all the points into your health and allow the kapro to grab you. Quickly knock it unconscious (use tranq arrows, Wooden Clubs, or anything else that can knock dinos unconscious) before it reaches water where it will gain the upper hand. It won't run away if it is holding you, so this is a viable strategy if you're prepared. Make sure you have meat and there are no dangerous creatures around that may harm your Kapro, as they can be easily dispatched by most creatures in the swamp due to their low health.

Traps can also prove extremely useful one example being an enclosure surrounded by ramps and attempting to lure the Kapro into said Enclosure. Note that they will often ignore flyers however this can be remedied by carrying a creature such as a or using Rare Flowers the latter of which is less prefered due to angering other creatures such as Dimorphodons.

Utility
With its or  attack and Right Click or Left Trigger leap, it can pick up small to medium creatures.

Roles

 * Low Level Defender: Due to it being a pretty good dino in general taming one at the start is a good idea, especially if you are going to live in or next to the swamp, as it is immune (mostly) to leeches. It is also not too hard to knock out so getting these as low level defenders could be viable.(Level Health and Damage)
 * Taming Mount: With its ability to pick up small-medium animals would be a suitable mount for running in and snatching a quick Oviraptor or Mesopithecus before they even notice you. Unlike flyers, the Kaprosuchus is capable of regenerating its stamina while holding a target and can travel underwater, aside that, its stamina draining attack is very useful while you're attempt to taming, and , as those creature are relatively fast while sprinting, once their stamina is completely drained they'll no longer be able to run, which will make the tame attempt a lot easier .(Level Health and Weight)
 * Its attack will even drain the stamina of wild creatures, allowing for an easy tame.
 * Cave Explorer: Its leap attack allows you to explore caves and pick off Cave creatures easily. Snatching up and killing Araneo with ease (Needs testing for other cave critters). Level Health, Melee Damage, and Speed.
 * Travel: Its Leap can get you from A to B with relative ease (Level Speed and Stamina).
 * PvP Raider: It can grab Players from saddles with a well placed sneak-attack leap. Allowing you to easily dispatch enemy players (Level Health, Melee Damage, Speed, and some Stamina).
 * Jumping: The Kaprosuchus' leap is affective at covering terrain but can't jump very high.
 * Escape Vehicle: Even though the Kaprosuchus is a good animal to use in fights and to kill enemies they have amazing speed making them quick on land and in water. With fast speed and ability to jump they can be used to escape from dangerous threats.

Collectibles

 * The Kaprosuchus can carry almost any creature with a Drag Weight of 100 or less. This does not (by itself) damage or draw aggro from the creature.
 * Aquatic Creatures
 * Note that the Kaprosuchus is no longer able to carry purely aquatic creatures.


 * Terrestrial Creatures


 * Flying Creatures

A Kaprosuchus can knock you off the following mounts:

Notes/Trivia

 * Dossier released on 8/31/2015
 * Kaprosuchus translates into "Boar-Crocodile", and was named so due to its large tusk-like fangs.
 * It is important to note that paleontologists have limited fossil material for the Kaprosuchus and actual have little idea as to what the body, legs, and tail of the animal looked like, so for all we know, the Ark Kaprosuchus could either be extremely accurate or highly inaccurate to the true creature.
 * Kaprosuchus skull has more boar teeth than Arks kapro yet most ark creatures have features that are heavily exaggerated.
 * Despite the dossier stating that Kaprosuchus is skilled on both land and water, it was most likely entirely land-based.
 * Like the and, the Kaprosuchus does not have an  meter and thus cannot drown despite being a terrestrial reptile.
 * The design for Kaprosuchus is surprisingly similar in appearance to the concept design for Primal Carnage: Genesis, as both designs are falsely depicted with long back legs.
 * It's the first terrestrial animal capable of picking up and carrying smaller animals.
 * In Patch 265.04 the Kaprosuchus dealt 500000 Damage to players & wild creatures when performing its pounce attack, this could briefly be used to one shot most bosses.
 * cannot be grabbed, so farming XP from them will require direct combat.
 * While lots of things can't be picked up for a simple kill, they can still be dived upon, dealing massive with a single bout of lunges. Be sure to save some  or a hill to launch from for a quick escape to build more stamina, and return to the hit-and-run tactic. Try testing this technique on other animals that can't be picked up, such as a,  or something that cant fight back like a  until you master it; at least enough to take on other things, or risk quickly losing your tame. Do note that this is best used in open areas, although the Kapro can fit into most caves its not suggested to jump around gathering groups of dino's, especially ones that can't be easily dispatched with it's commonly low  pool.
 * It is unknown but Kaprosuchus could have been one of the many creatures that lived on the ARK now known as Aberration. Due to the degradation and the radiation caused the surviving creatures to become Aberration creatures. While the other creatures became mutated Kaprosuchus was probably one of the creatures that couldn't adapt and survive the damaged ARK.
 * The real Kaprosuchus lived in the Niger region in central-west Africa, and though it lived in similar regions to the, they actually did not live at the same time according to what data is available. The Kaprosuchus did however indeed coexist with.
 * Shields can block its Leap+Grab attack, causing it to miss players.
 * Never punch a Kaprosuchus with your bare hands in the mission "Along Came Pollen” in Genesis as it will injure you very badly.
 * When a Kaprosuchus picks you up, it’s attacks ignore armour.
 * The Kaprosuchus ingame is about 7.5 meters long, but original estimates put it at 6+ meters.
 * It is the apex (and only) aquatic/subaquatic predator on the Scorched Earth ark.