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And, without further hiatus, we bring you, Survival of the Fittest.
In the scorching, sweltering heat of Hell's Creek in the Cretaceous period, a lone Tyrannosaurus, a majestic creature of unbridled power, struts confidently through her domain, her every step a testament to her untamed dominance. This is Ida, a subadult female Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, now 21 years old and having known nothing but the unchallenged supremacy of her realm. She roams freely, her footsteps echoing through the valleys and hills as she travels to the river, seeking refuge from the relentless heat.
As she approaches the river's edge, she steps closer, her eyes fixed on the cool, clear water. And then, in a sudden, swift motion, she drenches her jaws, the water enveloping her like a desperate pail extinguishing a raging house fire. For a moment, she sits at the riverbed, basking in the refreshing coolness, before rising and continuing on her way.
But Ida's thoughts soon turn to sustenance, for she has reached the critical growth stage where she must rapidly consume food to gain weight and maintain her strength. Her hunger drives her forward, and the thundering bellows of her feet echo throughout the valleys, a primal announcement of her presence. Today, her meal comes in the form of a dead Stygimoloch, a Pachycephalosaurus spinifer that has succumbed to the unforgiving forces of nature. Ida's senses are drawn to the lifeless carcass, and she prepares to feast, her dominance over this ancient landscape unchallenged.
After Ida finishes her meal, she nestles herself in her territory; a large rock which provides a view of the great skies of her domain. She watches as a Quetzalcoatlus northropi takes to the sky, covering the sun with its basking wings. Ida listens as a few pebbles fall down the side of her rocks.
She is disgusted by the sign of disrespect and lets out a thundering roar that shakes the pines to let it know. Ida shakes some water off of her snout before looking out, feeling the cool spring breeze tickle her hot scaly skin. She soon heard another roar echo back. While a Dakotaraptor steini chases a P. spinifer below her, Ida jumps to follow the sounds ecstatically. She's never met another Tyrannosaurus in this region of Hell's Creek.
As the echoes of her calls and steps bellow to the life around her, Ida then hears another roar and follows it. Ida was born here, but her Father abandoned her after a short time, and she's been the only Tyrannosaur for 17 years. As she passed a dried basin, she heard another roar. She slowly crept up to the clearing, disguised beneath the treeline and foliage. But her expectations were shattered as she saw not another Tyrannosaurus, but a Triceratops horridus herd. The source of the sound was cocky males fighting for mates, including the alpha, Andre.
Mary, Andre's spawn from last spring, stood close to the treeline behind the defence of her mother, Minerva. Since Ida was already there, she figured she might as well. She carefully stepped forward, prowling close to Mary. Her maw gaped wide as she prepared to eat, but she was too revealing. Minerva noticed the young Tyrannosaurus and sounded the alarm. A thunderous bellow shouted through the basin as Triceratops began running every which way.
While Ida kept still distracted by all the Triceratops, Minerva took advantage and her maternal instincts blew over like a steaming kettle. It was a blur, but once over, Ida stood droopy, blood dripping from her bottom jaw. She couldn't roar her dominance, or even close her jaws, but it was worse when she noticed Andre running at her.
Ida was jostled away as Andre dragged her like a limp doll before he pushed her away from the herd, his horn sliding out of her shredded muzzle. As Ida stood, her two jaws in throbbing pain, bleeding and insulted, she had no choice but to run into the tree line, her dominance over the region shattered.
Ida hid for a whole day, not going back to her domain. Ida was now a true loner. As she wandered, a slow, steady pulse of melancholy flooded her. She tried to scavenge a Quetzalcoatlus she found but her jaws made it difficult to eat, causing her to only eat so much before leaving, full of pain.
Over a week, Ida had lost any authority she had. Even Alphadon marshii mocked her as she passed the forests.
Ida soon struggled to eat anything. Due to her destroyed jaws, she couldn't kill anything, but she could also barely eat. It was a great pain, but she dealt with it.
Ida found herself in a reverse situation. She would camp just outside the edge of Hell's Creek, where the Dakotaraptors commoned. They'd be all over the area, around 2-6 at a time. On this particular day, Ida had sprained her ankle after falling some distance, forcing her to limp around.
As Ida limped past the feisty Dakotaraptors, snapping and snarling at each other as they picked apart the carcass, she felt a great wave of hunger wash over her. She was forced to wait until they passed before she could finally claw the tail off and drag it away.
Once safe from the Dakotaraptors, hidden by the shade of the treeline, Ida carefully but painfully began eating. Her jaws throbbed, and her ears banged like violent church bells.
But she had to continue. A slight era of bliss in her life, she ate and savoured the tail before finishing and moving on.
The next day, Ida looked like an early sub-adult from how much weight she lost. She began to walk normally again, but she decided today was the day she'd finally hunt again.
She found two male Pachycephalosaurus fighting in a trail clearing, likely a path the Hadrosaurids took when they migrated. As the two kept bonking skulls, Ida peered close. Before she knew it, she was snapping her jaws, trying desperately to catch the Pachycephalosaurus. But the pain soon caught up to her, and she stopped, watching the Pachy dash away, she suddenly remembered there was a second Pachycephalosaurus.
Ida winced as the second Pachycephalosaurus struck her knee, causing her even greater pain. The sudden force and imbalance caused Ida to fall. Ida could barely see the Pachy dash off before she passed out, exhausted and in pain.
Once she finally awoke, only the serene silence of the forest beckoned her to get up. And when she did, she found that prey was nowhere. She hadn't realized herbivores had started migrating. The only thing still around were Quetzalcoatlus and Dakotaraptors.
Ida began limping over to a cliff area, similar to her old lookout, but once she did, she heard a faint call behind her. As she looked back, she found a Quetzalcoatlus, mocking her. Another one viewed the chaos below. Ida roared off the Quetzalcoatlus but found the two trying to swarm her. She was NOT dying today.
Eventually, the Quetzalcoatlus gave up and flew away, but like clockwork, two Dakotaraptors appeared to clean up the mess.
They began circling her, darting around to disorient her. Ida roared as she tried catching them, but they only sliced her muzzle with their claws. Once that was over, Ida saw one of them running to pounce.
As the Dakotaraptor finally pounced, Ida felt time freeze. She noticed the two Quetzalcoatlus above her, seeming like a harbinger of what had happened to her. And with the pounce, Ida roared in pain as her life faded to black.
And with that, Ida's story is concluded, a story of hubris, and remember, anything and everything could kill you in Hell's Creek.
