Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (*) (S/F) / (S/F-T/G) (S/F-S)

Velociraptor antirrhopus (popularly called the “raptor”) is a medium-sized, aberrant species of genetically-modified dromaeosaurid dinosaur. Its genus name means “swift thief,” a reference to its quick movement speed and predatory nature. The variety bred by International Genetic Technologies exhibits an abnormally large number of phenotypic anomalies, which Jurassic-Pedia has acknowledged by assigning a new specific epithet, antirrhopus; this translates to “counterbalancing,” a reference to the function of the lengthy tail. Jurassic-Pedia staff intended this specific epithet to reference the similarity in size between InGen’s Velociraptor and the related North American species Deinonychus antirrhopus. American freelance researcher Gregory S. Paul classified Deinonychus as a species of Velociraptor in his 1988 book Predatory Dinosaurs of the World, leading to the InGen specimens sometimes being referred to as “Velociraptor antirrhopus sensu Paul.” This is, however, incorrect terminology today, as Deinonychus has been confirmed in multiple supplementary media sources to exist alongside the InGen Velociraptor. The “sensu Paul” terminology may still be applied (albeit erroneously) to fossil specimens excavated in Montana by Dr. Alan Grant, who as of 2001 still used Gregory S. Paul’s classification to describe North American dromaeosaurid remains which are most likely Deinonychus.

The taxonomy used to describe InGen Velociraptors, it should be noted, is not film-canon, but rather used here for purposes of clarity. In-universe, both V. mongoliensis and V. osmolskae are acknowledged to exist; this makes it unclear from which species InGen obtained DNA. Additionally, Deinonychus antirrhopus was cloned by InGen between 2005 and 2015, indicating that these genera are considered separate within the films’ universe despite Dr. Grant’s continued usage of Velociraptor as a wastebasket taxon.

Fossil specimens of Velociraptor are known from the late Cretaceous period, 75 to 71 million years ago, and have been found in Mongolia and China. Nearly all are known from the Djadochta Formation; some questionable remains have been reported from the Nemegt and Iren Dabasu Formations, but have not been conclusively identified as Velociraptor fossils.

Velociraptor was first discovered in the Flaming Cliffs (part of the Djadochta Formation) of the Mongolian Gobi Desert on August 11, 1923 by Peter Kaisen; the remains consisted of a crushed skull and one of the 6.5-centimeter (2.6-inch) raptorial claws. The genus was named officially by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1924; he had originally mentioned it as “Ovoraptor djadochtari,” but this name was never formally published, and it was eventually named Velociraptor mongoliensis (meaning “swift thief from Mongolia”). The raptorial claw was originally assumed to belong to the hand, but was eventually discovered to belong to the second toe.

During the Cold War, tensions between the capitalist United States and communist Mongolia prevented American research into the Gobi Desert. However, scientists from the Soviet Union, Poland, and Mongolia itself were able to continue research, discovering more Velociraptor remains. These included the “Fighting Dinosaurs” fossil found in 1971, a dramatic specimen consisting of a Velociraptor and small ceratopsid Protoceratops which had perished while in combat with one another. Between 1998 and 1990, a joint Chinese-Canadian expedition discovered further specimens in the region.

In 1999, the Sino-Belgian Dinosaur Expeditions recovered maxillae (the tooth-bearing bones of the upper jaw) and a lacrimal (a bone located in the front of the eye socket) belonging to Velociraptor from the Inner Mongolia region of China; researchers determined that they did not belong to V. mongoliensis, but to a new species. This species was named Velociraptor osmolskae by Pascal Godefroit and colleagues in 2008, the name honoring recently-deceased Polish paleontologist Halszka Osmólska, who was known for her extensive work in Mongolia.

Fossil quill knobs discovered in September 2007 confirm that, as paleontologists had suspected, the Velociraptor would have had a coat of birdlike feathers, possibly for display or insulation. Fossil specimens demonstrate that this species grew to 2.07 meters (6.8 feet) in length, 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) high at the hip, and weighed between 15 kilograms (33 pounds) and 19.7 kilograms (43 pounds).

Footprint of V. antirrhopus ssp. The second (leftmost in this image) toe is held off the ground and would not show in a real print. (Image from the Dinosaur Protection Group)

InGen Velociraptors were first cloned by Dr. Henry Wu in 1991 after a few failed attempts ended in karyolysis. The animals were intended for display in Jurassic Park; the park staff’s inability to properly maintain these dinosaurs resulted in the death of InGen employee Jophery Brown, which set into motion a series of events now known as the 1993 Isla Nublar incident. As of June 11, 1993, InGen had created up to Version 2.0 of this species. They were eventually integrated into the Jurassic World theme park, but once again, were not ready for display to the public prior to the park closing. Human interference has brought Velociraptor antirrhopus to the brink of extinction, from which it is just beginning to recover.

Three distinct variants of V. antirrhopus have been documented. Based on physical appearance, locality, and genetic modification, Jurassic-Pedia has tentatively assigned subspecies names to each one: V. a. nublarensis, known from both Isla Nublar and central Isla Sorna; V. a. sornaensis, known from a population originating on western Isla Sorna; and V. a. masranii, a genetically-modified version first hatched on Isla Nublar in 2012.

Description

InGen’s Velociraptor exhibits an abnormally large number of phenotypic anomalies, which are presumed to be the result of genetic modification (whether the modification was accidental or intentional is subject to much debate). The most marked physiological difference is the size; all three subspecies grow between 2.4 meters (8 feet) and 4.6 meters (15 feet) in length, roughly 250% larger than fossil Velociraptor species (and also slightly larger than Deinonychus antirrhopus). Average length appears to be 3.4 meters (11 feet). They stand around 1.7 to 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall when holding their heads upright, and are estimated to weigh between 68 and 226 kilograms (150 and 498 pounds). They are homeothermic, maintaining a body temperature of 32.8 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the archived version of the InGen IntraNet website, Velociraptor is susceptible to nootropic drugs, which can further enhance their already unusually high intelligence.

Mature female V. a. nublarensis. The skin color is actually brown, but appears to be gray-green under this particular lighting.

The skull is more rectangular and with a taller snout, as opposed to the narrow, low skull of fossil species. Its jaws’ powerful build gives it a bite force of 8,000 Newtons. In V. a. sornaensis and some V. a. masranii, there are crescent-shaped nasal ridges on the snout, located between the nostrils and the eye sockets, but these are far less prominent in V. a. nublarensis. Additionally, the eye morphology differs between the subspecies; both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii have large eyes with yellow sclerae and black slit pupils like those found in some nocturnal reptiles, but V. a. sornaensis has smaller eyes with circular pupils like those of birds. Some specimens of V. a. masranii, depending on genetic modification, have vertical beaded slit pupils rather than simple slits. Sclera coloration in V. a. sornaensis is sexually dimorphic, with red sclerae in males and yellow sclerae in females. In V. a. nublarensis, the sclerae are yellow-green, with some individuals showing more yellow or more green. Each eye is protected by a third eyelid called a nictitating membrane, which is semi-transparent and originates from the medial canthus. The nostrils and eyes both face forward; raptors are noted to have an extraordinary sense of smell, with at least V. a. masranii being capable of smelling accurately within a mile radius. The tongue is pink, narrow, and pointed, but not particularly muscular.

Scan of a fossilized skull of “Velociraptorantirrhopus (most likely Deinonychus) uncovered in Montana by Dr. Alan Grant and colleagues. Note the bony resonating chamber located toward the front, nearly identical to that found in V. a. sornaensis.

The number of teeth differs between fossil and genetically modified species. Fossil Velociraptors are believed to have had between 26 and 28 serrated teeth, widely spaced in the mouth, while InGen’s Velociraptors have around fifty long, blade-like teeth packed closely together. The newest variant V. a. masranii possesses the most teeth, with dentition placed noticeably farther back than the eye orbits; teeth are not present in the jaws behind the eye orbits in other subspecies or the original animal. Despite these differences in skull morphology, however, V. a. sornaensis possesses a bony resonating chamber in its snout which is virtually identical to one discovered in a “Velociraptorantirrhopus (probably Deinonychus) fossil discovered by Dr. Alan Grant near Fort Peck Lake, Montana in 2001. The brain of this dinosaur is also quite large; fossil species are believed to have had intelligence similar to that of small mammals such as cats or opossums, but Dr. Grant has hypothesized that even extinct dromaeosaurids may have had intelligence exceeding those of cetaceans and primates, making them potentially the second-most intelligent organisms known. InGen’s cloned specimens certainly exhibit extraordinarily high intelligence levels. Scans of the temporal lobe have revealed high levels of brain activity related to memory, organization and sequencing, and receptive memory.

The limbs of Velociraptor are heavily armed with sharp, curved claws. Both the arms and legs are lengthy and muscular; the hands have three fingers each, which are also long and terminate in narrow but extremely sharp claws. These enable the raptor to grapple with objects in its environment, as well as allowing it to cling to prey items. Its powerful legs allow it to run at very high speeds, with record speeds of fifty to sixty miles per hour in V. a. nublarensis while V. a. masranii can run at a more modest forty to fifty miles per hour. The top speed of V. a. sornaensis has not been confirmed, but appears to be within the range of the other two subspecies. The feet have four toes each; the first is a dewclaw, a small vestigial digit that does not reach the ground when the animal stands upright. The second toe possesses a greatly enlarged raptorial claw, which averages six inches in length (twice the size of those of fossil species). Highly curved with a flesh-piercing tip, this claw is designed to stab into prey items. The third and fourth toes are simpler, possessing smaller but still very sharp talons. The pubis is highly prominent in all subspecies except for V. a. masranii; the reduced pubis in this subspecies is one of its primary diagnostic features.

Size comparison between (from top to bottom) adults of Velociraptor antirrhopus, Utahraptor ostrommaysorum, and Deinonychus antirrhopus

The tail of the Velociraptor makes up around half its length, and is used both for counterbalance while running and for expressive communication. Paleontologists long believed that the tail was extremely stiff, unable to bend or flex at all; evidence uncovered in the 1980s and 1990s show some evidence that the tail was actually somewhat flexible. The tail of V. antirrhopus, however, is noticeably more flexible than those of currently-known fossils.

Along with these various phenotypic anomalies, Velociraptor antirrhopus is afflicted by the typical errors that plague InGen’s theropods, including pronated wrists and a lack of feathery integument. The lack of feathers would have been plausible in 1991 when the animals were cloned, but 2007 fossil evidence confirmed beyond a doubt that the animal would naturally have been feathered. InGen’s Dr. Henry Wu did recognize this error long before fossil remains proved the existence of feathers on this species; however, null alleles in the genomes of all his theropods inhibited the development of feathers. As of February 20, 2003, he recorded that null alleles created by the integration of amphibian, reptile, and bird genes had prevented him from engineering dinosaurs which grew feathers properly. The closest any cloned Velociraptors have come to feathers as of 2018 are the quills present on the skull of male V. a. sornaensis.

Coloration of the scaly skin on Velociraptor varies greatly based on subspecies. The most historically common subspecies, V. a. nublarensis, features camouflaging patterns; the females are an earthy light brown color and may have darker olive striping, though under certain lighting their bodies can appear gray-green, while the males are orange with dark gray or olive green stripes marking the back, tail, and legs. Subjects V-2 and A-2 from the IBRIS Project exhibit some variation in color; they are almost certainly second-generation V. a. nublarensis as they were already adults when the IBRIS Project began in 2012. Subject V-2, a female, features light blue patterning over her brown base coloration, while Subject A-2 has reduced striping patterns and lighter skin. Subject A-2 is presumed to be a male due to its orange color, but no information about it has been disclosed, including its sex.

Skeletal display of a mature V. a. masranii

The brown or yellow-green coloration appears to be the base of V. a. masranii, with unmodified individuals usually being in that range of colors, with some light striping on the back. Some specimens of V. a. masranii had coloration altered by gene splicing, giving them unique appearances.

V. a. sornaensis is certainly the most vibrantly-colored of all three subspecies, particularly the males. In the male of this subspecies, the base color is a purplish-mahogany on the dorsal side with a sandy tan color to the underbelly. Extending from the neck to the tail are a pair of blue-white stripes, one on either side of the purplish upper half; some males may have a dotted line pattern rather than a solid stripe. The nasal crests are bright red, while the small collection of quills on the back of the head are black and white. The female of V. a. sornaensis is more camouflaged, with a beige or white base color and black spot patterns; she may have black or red skin around the eyes. The junior novel Survivor, which is considered soft-canon to the films, describes Velociraptors (most likely V. a. sornaensis) with green and yellow or green and black coloration; the alpha male of this particular pride was said to have red rings on his chest. Such colorations have not been observed in other individuals.

Growth

Due to the immense popularity of this species, the growth stages of Velociraptor antirrhopus have been documented in greater detail than any other de-extinct animal. The hatchling stage of V. a. nublarensis has a large head and disproportionately large eyes, features that are presumably also present in V. a. masranii and possibly V. a. sornaensis. The hatchlings are able to walk within a day, though, and the growth rate is fairly rapid (and possibly increased by genetic modification and/or growth hormones supplied by their caretakers).

Hatchling V. a. nublarensis in the laboratory, Isla Nublar (6/11/1993)

According to InGen game warden Robert Muldoon, raptors are capable of killing their own prey within eight weeks of hatching. A similar level of intelligence and hunting ability has been observed in four V. a. masranii reared by InGen animal behaviorist Owen Grady. At this age, the adult body proportions begin to take shape; InGen’s original V. a. nublarensis were hatched sometime after September 20, 1991 and were sexually mature in mid-to-late May of 1993 before their relocation in early June. This means that they matured in, at most, one year and eight months. The growth rates of the other two subspecies are not known; the four V. a. masranii were hatched in early 2012, and were mature by mid-2014.

Sexual Dimorphism

Both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis exhibit fairly obvious sexual dimorphism. Male V. a. masranii have never been confirmed, so it is not known if sexual dimorphism is equally observable in this subspecies.

In Velociraptor antirrhopus nublarensis, sexual dimorphism is present in bodily coloration. Both sexes are adapted for camouflaging in woodland or grassland environments, so presumably the difference in color is exclusively used for display. Females are an earthy brown color and may have darker striping on the dorsal side, and have yellow sclerae. Males, on the other hand, are orange with black or gray vertical stripes, and have green-tinted sclerae. The male’s coloration is brighter, like in many birds, but its vertical light-and-dark stripe patterning would still enable it to hide easily in tall grass or dense foliage, much like the modern tiger, which has a similar stripe pattern. It should be noted that, due to the inclusion of common reed frog (Hyperolius viridiflavus) DNA, V. a. nublarensis is capable of protogyny. When this occurs, the female genital structure falls apart and is replaced by that of the male. The outward appearance of the animal does not immediately change, so a male animal may still outwardly resemble a female. It is not known if the influence of hormones causes the outward appearance of the animal’s body to change given enough time, as no specimens have been observed through the entire transition process.

Head of a female V. a. nublarensis
Head of a male V. a. nublarensis

In V. a. sornaensis, sexual dimorphism is more prominent than in V. a. nublarensis. The skull shape differs between the male and female, with the male’s nasal ridges being larger and featuring a bright red coloration (at least during the breeding season). The male also has a small number of black-and-white quills on the back of his skull, which can be raised and lowered in display. Sexually dimorphic coloration is more dramatic than in V. a. nublarensis as well, with the males displaying a vibrant purplish color with tan countershading as well as a blue-white stripe or line of spots down each flank. The female, on the other hand, is a simple beige or white color and possesses erratic black or gray splotches which presumably serve a camouflage purpose. The female may have reddish skin around the eyes, though some have been depicted with black skin around the eyes. The color of the sclerae is also sexually dimorphic, with males having red or orange sclerae and females having yellow sclerae. It is not known whether the V. a. sornaensis genome incorporates DNA from Hyperolius viridiflavus, and therefore whether it is capable of protogyny.

Character study of a male V. a. sornaensis head
Character study of a female V. a. sornaensis head
Habitat
Preferred Habitat

The fossil species V. mongoliensis and V. osmolskae are believed to have inhabited both forested and desert environments, suggesting that they were adaptable and capable of withstanding a variety of climates. Velociraptor antirrhopus, though it differs from its fossil ancestors in many ways, also appears capable of adapting to various ecosystems. Its original paddock on Isla Nublar was heavily forested, with massive Moreton Bay figs (Ficus macrophylla) throughout; this habitat was suitable for breeding, indicating that it was a healthy environment type for the animals. During the incident, escaped raptors were shown to favor enclosed spaces for hunting, including artificial structures such as the maintenance and utility shed, Visitors’ Centre, and the maintenance and service tunnels.

Populations living in the wild also appeared competent at hunting within artificial structures, but generally favored more naturalistic environs. In particular, V. a. nublarensis were observed living in a field of elephant grass near the Workers’ Village in central Isla Sorna, whereas V. a. sornaensis inhabited a wetter jungle in the island’s western hills near the Embryonics, Administration, and Laboratories Compound. Both subspecies were clearly comfortable on grassy plains, which permit them to make full use of their speed and agility.

The only known survivors of attempts to breed V. a. masranii, Isla Nublar (c. 2012)

The preferred habitat of V. a. masranii cannot be studied for certain due to the fact that three out of four living specimens died within an hour of their release into the wild. The sole survivor, an animal named “Blue,” favored the northern forests of Isla Nublar between her 2015 release and 2018 removal from the island, particularly the area surrounding Mount Sibo. Others have been kept in containment in arid desert and tropical rainforest environments (though the former were not exposed to the elements). After being released into the Pacific Northwest, the specimen Blue spent some time migrating between Northern and Southern California, but has shown an affinity for higher altitudes and an ability to tolerate cold winters. As a warm-blooded animal, Velociraptor can remain active in chillier climates than most modern reptiles.

Muertes Archipelago

Both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis were present on Isla Sorna some time after September 20, 1991. Embryonic specimens 4x, 6x, and 7x had, by that point, failed within six days due to karyolysis, but Dr. Wu nonetheless succeeded in cloning the animal by replacing its donor DNA to a more compatible species. By February 13, 1992, specimens of Velociraptor had grown old enough to exhibit the collective intelligence typical of prides of their species. It is not known where on the island these animals resided, or what their population statistics were between 1991 and 1993.

In 1992 or 1993, a total of eight supposedly-female V. a. nublarensis were shipped to Isla Nublar. Following the deaths of five of these specimens, an additional five females were shipped to the island to replace them. There is no evidence that V. a. sornaensis was considered for park use, and it has been suggested that it may not have existed yet in 1993.

At last count before InGen’s evacuation of Isla Sorna in late 1993, there were a total of 18 raptors living on Isla Sorna. Which subspecies had which proportion is unknown.

It has been suggested that V. a. sornaensis was created during InGen’s illegal operations on Isla Nublar in 1998 and 1999, or that this subspecies is the offspring of the original generation of V. a. nublarensis. The latter explanation, while popular, is highly unlikely; such dramatic morphological change in a single generation is unprecedented in vertebrate animals. Alternatively, these traits may have always existed in the parent population, and either InGen or naturally-occurring behavioral differences “sorted” the two different phenotypes.

On May 29, 1997, the expeditions sent by John Hammond and Peter Ludlow encountered ten adult V. a. nublarensis near the Workers’ Village on Isla Sorna. The pride consisted of both males and females, but the exact numbers of each sex have yet to be determined. One male may have died due to injuries sustained during the incident, but this is not known for certain. Thermal scans of the island had previously identified raptor nesting sites in the island interior, near where they were observed by the expeditions.

Known (red) range of V. a. nublarensis on Isla Sorna as of 1997

Between May 23 and July 19 of 2001, the individuals involved with the Eric Kirby affair encountered multiple Velociraptors, particularly V. a. sornaensis. The junior novel Survivor, which is subject to canon review by Universal Studios at their discretion, describes at least nineteen raptors living in the southwest of Isla Sorna, including a dominant male dubbed “Red Rings” by Eric Kirby. One raptor was confirmed to have been killed during an attack on a sickly Tyrannosaurus. Some weeks prior, at the Embryonics, Administration, and Laboratories Compound, between two and three V. a. sornaensis were observed; it is not known if they belong to the clan which was encountered during the following weeks. With the alpha male wounded during a conflict with an Iguanodon herd, the clan lost its main power structure.

During the last few days of this prolonged incident, a smaller V. a. sornaensis pride was encountered by the stranded rescue team organized by the Kirby family; the pride consisted of at least four adult males and two adult females. Six nests were present in the forest near the Compound; one nest held thirteen eggs, four nests had twelve each, and one nest contained ten eggs. Two eggs were removed by human activity during the incident; it is not known whether they survived being outside of their nest for the day-long period that followed. Whether or not they survived, they were retrieved by the alpha female of the pride and returned to their nesting site.

The existence of V. a. sornaensis may have been publicly known prior to the Eric Kirby affair, due to the fact that Dr. Alan Grant was aware enough of their physical appearance to have a dream about one prior to his arrival on Isla Sorna during the incident.

According to the junior novel Prey (which is subject to canon review by Universal Studios at any time), five juvenile V. a. sornaensis inhabited Mount Hood as of December 30, 2001. Others may have existed in that same area, but the subspecies is not actually confirmed.

Known (red) and hypothetical (purple) range of V. a. sornaensis on Isla Sorna as of July 19, 2001. Hypothetical range includes potentially unreliable data from Eric Kirby’s accounts, as well as the range traversed by a division of the EALC pride on July 19 in pursuit of their stolen eggs.

Between 2002 and 2004, numerous animals were shipped between Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna while Jurassic World was constructed. It has been suggested that Velociraptor was among these, as none were present on Isla Nublar as of September 2004. If this did occur, some new V. a. nublarensis would have been introduced to Isla Sorna.

During 2004 an ecological collapse affected Isla Sorna due to numerous animals bred illegally on the island by InGen under Masrani Global Corporation. This was exacerbated by poaching; while it is not known if any raptors were poached, reports of disturbing injuries in Central America following the poaching implies that some may have been removed from the island. Beginning in September, Masrani Global Corporation began retrieving Velociraptors from Isla Sorna following similar operations for the other animals. They were transported to Isla Nublar; supposedly, none remain on Isla Sorna today. With the Muertes Archipelago still under tight control despite being abandoned, a survey of the islands is unlikely at this time, so their true state remains mysterious.

Jurassic Park: San Diego

The construction of InGen’s original Jurassic Park facility, located on their property in San Diego, California, was ended before Velociraptor had been successfully cloned. During the attempted revival in 1997, this was not even among the species targeted for the Park. The only example of raptors being brought to San Diego comes from one possible ending of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book released alongside The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which describes the reader encountering a single V. a. nublarensis in the park basement before the departure of the InGen crew to Isla Sorna. In the encounter, the raptor has evidently escaped captivity and eats the reader. These events, of course, do not happen in canon.

Isla Nublar

Beginning in 1991 or 1992, InGen began delivering Velociraptor antirrhopus nublarensis to Isla Nublar for Jurassic Park. In total, eight raptors were originally shipped to the island, placed in a paddock designed to suit their needs. This paddock covered a large, mostly forested area at the north end of the Jungle River. Surrounded on all sides by a twenty-four-foot electric fence, it was bordered by the tyrannosaur paddock to the north, the Gallimimus paddock to the south, the tertiary Dilophosaurus paddock to the east, and the primary herbivore paddock to the west and northwest (containing both Parasaurolophus and Brachiosaurus).

Not all were introduced simultaneously; when the eighth (dubbed “The Big One” by Robert Muldoon) was introduced, a violent restructuring of power occurred, with the newcomer killing all but two of the others (dubbed “Randy” and “Kim” by fans). The three survivors continued to cause security concerns, and were therefore transferred from their paddock to a small holding pen in the central island. At an unknown time before their transfer, some of the Velociraptors had bred, indicating that at least one had changed sex from female to male. It is not known if this male was among the survivors. At least one nest was eventually discovered, the remains of eight eggs within.

A photograph in the Jurassic Park Field Guide shows an infant raptor hatching in a nest containing at least four eggs, but this individual’s fate (and that of the other four eggs) is unknown. Based on the presence of Herrerasaurus in the book, this would have occurred sometime between the decision to transport The Big One and subordinates to the holding pen and the June incident.

Paddock range and holding pen area (red) and speculative placement of southern quarantine pens (purple) of V. a. nublarensis on Isla Nublar (paddock range prior to early June 1993; holding pen areas prior to June 12, 1993)

John Hammond imported a pride of five additional female Velociraptors to Isla Sorna following the loss of most of Isla Nublar’s raptors, and they were stored in the southern quarantine pens. Before they could be integrated into the pride, the relocation of the raptors was deemed necessary, and Hammond determined that the former raptor paddock would instead be used for Herrerasaurus. Unlike with the original raptor pride, there is no evidence of these five breeding, and thus no evidence that any had become male.

One infant raptor hatched in the morning of June 11, 1993 out of a nest containing nine eggs. The eggs in the original raptor paddock hatched after the tropical storm which made landfall on Isla Nublar in the afternoon of June 11. The newly-hatched raptors traveled away from the nest; their location for the next year would be unknown.

On June 12, 1993, during the incident on Isla Nublar, power was cut to the raptor holding pen and the three adults enclosed within escaped into the nearby forest. The Big One was eventually trapped within the maintenance shed by Dr. Ellie Sattler, while Randy and Kim made their way toward the Visitors’ Centre. The Big One was able to escape the maintenance shed and made her way toward the Visitors’ Centre where her subordinates were hunting. During the attack on the Visitors’ Centre, Randy became trapped in a walk-in freezer while Kim continued to pursue the humans; The Big One joined in, but was ambushed and killed by the park’s Tyrannosaurus. Randy was subsequently also killed by the larger predator.

During the evening and night of June 12, the replacement pride from the southern quarantine pens also escaped by unknown means. They traveled north across the island, entering the maintenance tunnels through an entrance near Dr. Laura Sorkin’s research paddock. One was killed by the Tyrannosaurus during an incidence of kleptoparasitism by the tyrannosaur, and a second was killed within the maintenance tunnels by a mercenary acting in defense of the incident’s survivors. The remaining three adults were last seen in the maintenance tunnels near the geothermal power plant.

Known (red) and hypothetical (purple) range of V. a. nublarensis on Isla Nublar after June 12, 1993 and before October 5, 1994

The 1994 survey carried out by InGen on Isla Nublar recovered the remains of multiple deceased infant Velociraptors, but the total population on the island was recorded as unknown. The raptor which hatched on June 11 of the previous year, as well as its nestmates (whether they had hatched yet or not), were almost certainly among the dead due to having been trapped in the nursery with no sustainable food sources.

Film posters imply that some Velociraptors did survive over the next decade while Jurassic World was under construction and may have been breeding; as of February 20, 2003 Dr. Henry Wu was still working on their genome. However, Simon Masrani stated in August 2004 that no Velociraptors were currently present on Isla Nublar. Any survivors may have been temporarily relocated to Isla Sorna between 2002 and 2004.

During 2004 and 2005, numerous specimens of V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis were transported from Isla Sorna to Isla Nublar. The first, a female V. a. nublarensis, arrived on September 8; however, it was euthanized following an incident in which it killed an intern. The remainder of Isla Sorna’s population was transported over the course of the next eight months, one at a time to prevent them from organizing during transport. Each raptor would be integrated into habitats in Sector 5 after a few weeks in the quarantine paddock, where they would be kept apart from tourists and could be studied.

The Jurassic Intel website’s Guide to Dinosaur Eggs (published non-canonically on August 30, 2018) describes raptors being hatched in the Hammond Creation Lab during Jurassic World’s operational phase; their eventual fate is unknown, but they were likely moved to habitat in Sector 5 once they began to mature. No publicly-accessible attractions including Velociraptor are known to have ever existed on Isla Nublar between 2005 and 2015, although an edition of the Jurassic World Employee Handbook published sometime after 2012 indicates that Velociraptors were viewable to the public via some means despite not having an exhibit. Since it was public knowledge that the park housed raptors in off-limits facilities, it may be that guests could view them using in-paddock trail cameras or other such methods.

In the early stages of the IBRIS Project, which began in 2012, at least one and possibly two V. a. nublarensis were under the care of InGen Security, now owned by Masrani Global Corporation. These specimens, including a female designated Subject V-2, were deemed too aggressive and unpredictable for the project and were rejected. Their fate remains undisclosed, but raptor bones present in the research paddock as of 2015 suggest that at least one adult died during the project.

A genetically modified female raptor was bred by the NMS Centre’s scientists in early July 2012, outside of the scope of I.B.R.I.S. and therefore unknown to InGen Security personnel. Gene suppression was used to give this raptor elevated levels of mesotocin. Nearly a year later, in early June 2013, two more female raptors were hatched; these were also treated using gene suppression, this time to slow their physical growth. They were kept away from the rest of the park in the NMS Centre, known only to Simon Masrani and the staff who worked there under Dr. Wu.

B-420 “Blue,” a mature female V. a. masranii

By 2012, Dr. Henry Wu had succeeded in genetically modifying Velociraptor embryos to create a new variant; they were created sometime prior to May 15 (the animated short LEGO film Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit depicts a different origin story for these raptors with a hatching date of May 23 instead, but is not canon). This new type of raptor has been named Velociraptor antirrhopus masranii by Jurassic-Pedia for the sake of expediency. Four of the specimens survived infancy; InGen animal behaviorist Owen Grady named them “Blue,” “Delta,” “Echo,” and “Charlie.” As of the publication of the Jurassic World Employee Handbook, Velociraptors of the other two subspecies still existed under the care of Masrani Global Corporation. The four V. a. masranii were kept within a specially-designed paddock located on the eastern coast of Isla Nublar. They were released for the first time during the incident on December 18, 2015; within an hour of their release, Charlie had died during a firefight in Sector 5, and shortly thereafter Delta and Echo were killed during conflict with the Indominus rex on Main Street.

The three raptors from the NMS behavioral genomics project were confirmed alive as of February 18, 2018, living in the NMS Centre. All of them died during the following day.

Over the next three years, Blue survived in the island’s northern reaches, eventually settling just south of Mount Sibo and hunting in the surrounding area. The impending eruption of Mount Sibo resulted in her evacuation from the island on June 23, 2018 at the behest of Henry Wu. With Blue’s removal from the island, no Velociraptors remained on Isla Nublar.

Atacama Facility

Three raptors (possibly four, originally) were held by InGen Security at a clandestine facility in the Atacama Desert of Chile. They were used for the final stage of the I.B.R.I.S. Project, which was well on its way toward failure. Kept alongside a single Troodon research specimen, little is known about these raptors including their sexes, but they were most likely the subspecies V. a. masranii. In March of 2016, they were involved with an incident at the facility in which former InGen scientists removed the Troodon; the raptors escaped into the desert. The Chilean InGen facility was probably shut down.

Mantah Corp Island

Raptor specimens were quite rare after the collapse of Isla Sorna, with the few living animals kept under lock and key by InGen Security and watched at all times. DNA samples, on the other hand, were probably easier to poach, and this is likely how InGen’s rival Mantah Corporation obtained their own raptors. Cloning them once the samples were acquired was a simple enough task, and by 2016, the company had its own pair of Velociraptor antirrhopus masranii.

These two raptors were housed at a facility built for animal testing on Mantah Corp Island, away from prying eyes and accessible only to a select few. They were housed within the tropical rainforest biome, often seen loitering near the facility control room where they continuously tested the security systems for any weak points.

Biosyn Genetics Sanctuary

This was not a very common dinosaur in the years leading up to 2018, before which it was generally believed there was only one surviving raptor. However, the sale of raptor DNA on the black market changed this, and new specimens began to crop up. Biosyn Genetics was contracted alongside the Department of Prehistoric Wildlife by several countries including the United States to capture and contain problem animals. In February 2021, smuggler Kayla Watts was hired to transport a breeding population of one male and three females of unknown subspecies to the Biosyn Genetics Sanctuary. Most of the valley is heavily forested, but it is unknown in what region the raptors chose to live.

In early 2022, Biosyn set its sights on an asexually-bred wild raptor, Beta, the offspring of the I.B.R.I.S. specimen Blue. A poacher named Rainn Delacourt was hired to capture her, venturing to the Sierra Nevada Mountains and trapping the young animal for transport. After spending less than a few hours in Biosyn’s headquarters, the young raptor was released by Maisie Lockwood and escaped into the maintenance ducts. She was eventually captured by animal behaviorist Owen Grady and returned home. It is not known if other raptors currently inhabit the sanctuary, which has since been taken over by the United Nations.

Black market

Velociraptors may have been brought to Central America due to poaching in the Muertes Archipelago during the 2000s and early 2010s, but this is unconfirmed. The only evidence consists of reports of disturbing injuries appearing to be the result of animal attacks in Central America. These reports were most common between 2013 and 2014. By 2018, it was widely believed that just one Velociraptor remained alive, the I.B.R.I.S. specimen Blue on Isla Nublar. She was removed from the island on June 23 at the behest of Henry Wu, who intended to use her for research. Mercenary hunter Ken Wheatley was hired by Wu’s employer Eli Mills and, with aid, captured the raptor. Blue was transported to the Lockwood estate; she was the only dinosaur not destined for sale on the black market. On the night of June 24, she was released into the wild.

Although Blue herself was never meant to be sold, Velociraptor DNA was fair game, and samples of it were purchased by a Russian buyer (probably the mobster Anton Orlov, who was interested in cockfights with carnivorous dinosaurs). Now that the technology for de-extinction is available to parties outside of InGen, it is likely that more people will clone their own raptors in the future. DNA, live specimens, and eggs can probably be found in the Amber Clave night market, a major hub for illegal de-extinction trade located in Malta. The parthenote Beta was trafficked through here in 2022, and around the same time, at least one male V. a. sornaensis was being held in the market (this began as an unsubstantiated fan theory, whose creator eventually convinced director Colin Trevorrow to confirm it as true).

Wild populations

In its original form, Velociraptor (including at least two species, V. mongoliensis and V. osmolskae) inhabited central Asia, appearing to be an adaptable carnivore living between desert and forested environments. The age of the fossil formations where its remains have been found are dated to between 75 and 71 million years ago, in the Cretaceous period, though their exact age is debated by scientists. After living for a period of time, Velociraptor became extinct due to environmental changes; like most prehistoric species the cause of its extinction is not precisely understood. This animal was eventually resurrected by scientists in the early 1990s, but the cloned specimens were genetically altered; the original form of this species exists only in fossils.

While rumors of wild raptors have circulated around for many years, the first confirmed case was in 2016. Three raptors escaped from an InGen Security testing facility in the Atacama Desert of Chile. They have not been sighted since, so the presence of raptors in South America is currently unknown.

V. a. sornaensis in the wild, Thunder Bay, Ontario (2022)

The black market has brought more raptors to North America. In 2018, the last surviving I.B.R.I.S. specimen, a six-year-old female called Blue, was transported to the Lockwood estate near Orick, California for clandestine research. She was released from captivity by Dinosaur Protection Group activist Zia Rodriguez, leaving the estate and migrating south. Later that summer, she was sighted about 685 miles to the south near Simi Valley, California. She returned north in the winter of 2021-22, living between the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. She laid a single egg by parthenogenesis that winter, producing a daughter called Beta. Currently, both still inhabit the region. Raptor sightings were also reported from Nevada in early 2022, as well as from Fishenden Falls National Park in Northern California. The population in Fishenden Falls includes both males and females of V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis. Additionally, an adult male and female were filmed in Thunder Bay, Ontario in the early summer of 2022.

Behavior and Ecology
Activity Patterns

The eye morphology of each subspecies is believed to be related to their activity patterns. The round pupils and overall small eyes of V. a. sornaensis imply a diurnal lifestyle, which appears to be the case; most hunting, feeding, socializing, and patrolling has been overwhelmingly observed during the day. Nighttime activity mainly consists of resting and patrolling territory, though some hunting may still occur.

Female (left) and male (right) V. a. sornaensis. Note the smaller eyes and round pupils, similar to those in diurnal hunters; this implies a diurnal habit.

Both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii have vertical pupils which resemble those of some reptiles and mammals such as small cats. This implies a nocturnal lifestyle; unfortunately, natural behavior in the wild has only been observed in V. a. nublarensis one time, though this was at night. A possible occurrence in the junior novel Prey describes a hunting behavior similar to that observed in 1997; this also occurred at night, but the animals were not directly observed as they remained concealed. As of such, the subspecies cannot be verified, and furthermore, the junior novel accounts may be unreliable. V. a. nublarensis does not have any difficulty operating during the day, however, and has been shown to hunt at twilight and shortly after nightfall as well.

V. a. masranii is clearly comfortable at night, and has advanced night vision. The second-eldest member of the four, named “Delta,” was even modified with structural genes from the Tokay gecko to increase her ability to see in low-light conditions. Beaded pupils permit animals not only to hunt in variable light conditions, but increase their ability to gauge distance to a target. Simple vertical slits also aid in depth perception, and by expanding or contracting, they can provide vision in a better range of light conditions than round pupils. The eldest raptor, “Blue,” is equally comfortable acting during the day and at night; she has been observed being active at all times of the day, suggesting that she has adopted a cathermal lifestyle. This may be an adaptation to her involuntary solitude, following the deaths of her packmates. After producing a daughter, she has maintained mostly diurnal behaviors, and her daughter has followed suit.

Diet and Feeding Behavior

As with most of its relatives, the Velociraptor is a carnivore, and well-equipped for hunting live prey items. It is even capable of taking down animals larger than itself by using complex hunting techniques and strategic planning. While a solitary raptor is a highly capable predator, they are at their most formidable when operating in pairs or groups. Their complex communication, which some scientists such as Dr. Alan Grant consider to be a language, allows them to formulate strategies to outmaneuver their prey and take it down efficiently. The methods by which all three raptor subspecies lay traps for their prey are highly varied, and it is likely that each individual pride has a unique type of strategy it uses. According to animal behaviorist Owen Grady, raptors typically scent out their prey and corral it into what he terms a “kill zone,” where the animals surround the prey item before closing in. The immense speed of the raptors also permits them to partake in simple pursuit hunting, which has been observed in all three subspecies.

The vertical pupils of V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii are similar to those seen in smaller felines and predatory reptiles, which hunt by ambush while keeping a low profile near the ground. Having vertical pupils helps predatory animals with depth perception using vertical flora such as stalks of grass, determining where the prey is located relative to the grasses and other objects. Since raptors are often observed in fields of thick, tall grass, vertical pupils assist them in hunting here. On the other hand, the rounded pupils of V. a. sornaensis are more like those of most birds and predatory mammals, and these pupils are useful in targeting prey in more open spaces.

Ambush techniques have been observed in all three subspecies. Like all raptor hunting strategies, the technique varies by pride. For example, the V. a. nublarensis pride led by “The Big One” in 1993 is known to have killed park warden Robert Muldoon by ambush. Raptors “Randy” and “Kim” lured him into a heavily forested area, with one raptor acting as bait by behaving as though it did not know Muldoon was there; meanwhile, the second raptor maneuvered to his side, ambushing him while he was distracted. A pride of V. a. sornaensis displayed even more advanced ambush techniques in 2001, appearing to understand human behavior to a degree that allowed them to be manipulative. A male of this pride hid behind an empty incubation tank in the EALC, leaving only his head visible; it has been suggested that he was attempting to mimic one of the embryos preserved in the tanks. A male and female pair later wounded a member of the failed rescue mission, using him as bait to lure sympathetic humans out of hiding. When it is unnecessary to use complicated ambush strategies, all three subspecies have been observed using simple ambush by taking advantage of their environment; dense foliage and tall grass make for excellent cover that the raptors will hide in before making their attack.

A male (left) and female (right) V. a. nublarensis attempt to dig underneath a door to access prey

When their prey is vulnerable, the raptors will make a final dash toward the victim and leap onto it. They typically splay their long arms to the sides while dashing and leaping, most likely to reduce the chances of the prey escaping to the side. While scientists historically believed that the raptorial claws on the second toes were used to slash at prey and create large lacerations, both behavioral studies on InGen’s raptors and fossil evidence related to the prehistoric versions have since confirmed that the toe claws are not used for slashing, but for gripping. The sharp tip of the claw punctures the flesh of the prey and holds fast; it lacks serrations and so cannot cut, but its hooked shape makes it difficult for the prey to shake off. The raptor also uses the lengthy claws of its fingers to attack while gripping with its feet; the claws of the fingers can be used to make shallow slashing wounds. The real killing implements, however, are its fifty or so sharp, backward-curving teeth. When a raptor has prey pinned, it will bite down on the head or neck with its jaws, which can deliver with a force of 8,000 Newtons, comparable to the American alligator. This crushes the blood vessels in the neck, and may also crush the trachea and spine. Between stabbing with its toe claws, slashing with its hands, and gnawing with its jaws, a raptor can bring its prey to a swift death by shock and blood loss. In some cases, raptors appear to enjoy the adrenaline rush of the kill and may intentionally take longer than necessary to finish off their victims. Like modern birds of prey, they may sometimes eat a still-living animal if it is too weak to fight back.

The diet of these animals is highly varied. According to the InGen IntraNet website, they will eat the meat of nearly any animal but prefer fresh kill. The game Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis states that their favored prey is small mammals, and humans are certainly within the size range of their potential prey. This has caused an abnormally large number of human fatalities. Mammalian prey has also been confirmed to include the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), domestic pig (Sus scrofa domesticus), and cattle (Bos taurus), though Isla Nublar historically had a stable goat population which may have fed wild raptors on the island. In captivity, V. a. masranii was typically fed prepared food, including dead white rats and beef jerky. They have even been known to eat processed foods obtained from vending machines on Isla Nublar. Raptors in western North America are known to feed mostly on mammals including feral rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and even the northwestern gray wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis). In the east their diet probably consists of comparable species. They are also known to scavenge human detritus, and occasionally attack and eat humans. However, they typically avoid humans due to the risk inherent in hunting them.

Dinosaurian prey is also varied. V. a. nublarensis have been confirmed to prey on Parasaurolophus, and deleted components of The Lost World: Jurassic Park indicate that Corythosaurus would also be a prey item (it is not known if any of this species existed prior to 1998 or 1999). The junior novel Prey features raptors killing a juvenile Edmontosaurus. According to Simon Masrani, raptors will also prey on Gallimimus.

The junior novel Survivor portrays V. a. sornaensis possibly killing a sickly and malnourished female Tyrannosaurus rex using a large, coordinated assault, but this is not a typical scenario. In the same book, a complex herding-and-slaughtering behavior was portrayed; a large group of V. a. sornaensis herded a population of Iguanodon into a valley, periodically singling out an individual and killing it for food. They prevented the herbivores from leaving to maintain a source of food close by; the practice, however, was unsustainable, and would have eventually led to the herbivores’ starvation had Eric Kirby not intervened. Sightings of raptors in more recent times have never involved so many animals all together, and so this level of complicated strategic coordination has not been seen since.

Both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii have been known to scavenge as well as hunt. The skeletons of at least two adult sauropods, identified in supplementary material as Apatosaurus, can be seen near the Site B Workers’ Village where a pride of V. a. nublarensis is known to have lived in the 1990s and early 2000s. The immense size of such animals makes it unlikely that the raptors brought them down, and it is more likely that the raptors scavenged the carcasses. An abnormally large Stegosaurus found near V. a. masranii Blue’s nest on Isla Nublar also showed signs of recent scavenging, but it is highly unlikely that a lone raptor could kill such an animal (indeed, it shows no signs of raptor-induced injury), and it is more likely that it died of other health complications. According to the Ride canon, Velociraptor will eat small amounts of bracken fern (genus Pteridium), though these plants are no more than a snack and do not constitute a significant portion of its diet. It is not uncommon for carnivorous animals to sometimes eat plants as a source of folic acid and fiber to aid in digestion, but bracken in particular can cause poisoning if eaten in large amounts.

The virtual reality short film Jurassic World: Blue portrays Blue unsuccessfully attempting to prey on a juvenile Triceratops which had wandered away from its own kind, and later attempting to steal eggs from a Baryonyx nest.

After making a kill, V. a. nublarensis may drag its prey to a suitable sheltered location to eat. If the kill is made near the nesting area, and is small enough to carry, they will bring the carcass close to home where their families can easily access it. The Department of Prehistoric Wildlife describes similar behavior in the other variants. When eating from a carcass, they typically feed from the flank areas first.

Social Behavior

Velociraptor antirrhopus has among the most advanced social structure of any dinosaur, owing to its high capacity for intelligence. Communities of raptors are called prides, but are sometimes referred to as packs or clans. Stable prides have been recorded with as few as three and as many as nineteen animals. According to Jurassic World: Evolution, the ideal size for a Velociraptor pride is two to six animals, though larger ones have been witnessed. At times, raptors may travel away from their prides, wandering solitarily or in pairs, but nearly always return to the company of others of their kind. In nearly every observed pride, a single dominant leader emerges and becomes an authority figure at the top of the pride hierarchy. Usually referred to as the alpha raptor, this individual’s power comes from superior size, strength, intelligence, and hunting ability. Currently known raptor prides, in order of chronological appearance, are as follows:

  • Primary Isla Nublar Pride (V. a. nublarensis): Originally 8 animals; violent power restructuring reduced it to 3. Alpha raptor referred to as “The Big One” by Robert Muldoon. Subordinates named “Randy” and “Kim” unofficially. Randy appeared to be dominant over Kim. Sexes of these animals are unknown due to the fact that at least one had transitioned into a male through protogyny. All three died in the 1993 Isla Nublar incident. The pride had laid 8 eggs prior to their relocation, all of which hatched on June 11 or June 12; most or all of these infants had died by October 1994.
  • Secondary Isla Nublar Pride (V. a. nublarensis): 5 animals, all presumed to be female as no breeding occurred. Alpha raptor is unnamed, but can be identified by a large scar on its face. Two died during the 1993 Isla Nublar incident; the fates of the remaining three are not known. All raptors on Isla Nublar, save a single V. a. masranii, had died out by 2015.
  • Workers’ Village Pride (V. a. nublarensis): At least 10 animals, including both males and females. Alpha raptor is currently not known. The fates of these raptors has not been disclosed, but any survivors as of 2004 would have been relocated to Isla Nublar, where they eventually died out.
  • Southwest Sorna Pride (V. a. sornaensis): At least 19 animals. Alpha raptor was a male named “Red Rings” by Eric Kirby due to his distinctive coloration. Only evidence for this pride comes from the junior novel Survivor. One member of the pride died in late May or early June 2001 during a hunt. Red Rings was eventually wounded by Eric, leading to his subordinates no longer recognizing his authority and resulting in the dissolution of the pride. Any survivors as of 2004 would have been relocated to Isla Nublar, where they eventually died out.
  • EALC Pride (V. a. sornaensis): At least 6 animals, including four males and two females, observed in June 2001. Alpha raptor was an unnamed female. It is not known if she shared power with any of the males, though she did appear to favor one. Pride had laid eggs in May or June of 2001, including five nests with between 10 and 13 eggs each. Two eggs may have died during the incident. These animals are most likely from the dissolved Southwest Sorna Pride. Any survivors as of 2004 would have been relocated to Isla Nublar, where they eventually died out.
  • Mount Hood Pride (V. a. sornaensis): At least 5 subadults, observed in December 2001. Alpha raptor is currently not known, and due to the young age of the animals this authority may not yet have been established. Only evidence for this pride comes from the junior novel Prey. These animals are most likely offspring of the former members of the dissolved Southwest Sorna Pride. Any survivors as of 2004 would have been relocated to Isla Nublar, where they eventually died out.
  • Sector 5 Pride or Prides (V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis): Survivors from Isla Sorna transported to Isla Nublar. Very little information has been disclosed. Still in existence as of the publication of the Jurassic World Employee Handbook.
  • IBRIS Pride (V. a. masranii): 4 females, created in 2012 on Isla Nublar. Until they neared adulthood, all four recognized animal behaviorist Owen Grady as the alpha; the “beta” raptor Blue began to challenge him for authority as she matured, having fought her packmate Echo for authority previously. Charlie was considered second in command to Blue, followed by Delta and Echo as the subordinates. Briefly, they recognized an Indominus rex as their alpha, but rejected it within an hour. All but Blue died after being released from their paddock on December 18, 2015; Blue was eventually removed from Isla Nublar on June 23, 2018.
  • NMS Pride (V. a. masranii): 3 females bred for the NMS behavioral genomics project. They were modified using gene suppression to alter their behavioral patterns; their existence was not known to InGen Security or the public, and were a private project by Dr. Wu. They were still living in the NMS Centre as of early 2018. The alpha of this pride was probably the eldest, an animal hatched in early June 2012 with heightened mesotocin levels. Each raptor had unique skin patterning which made them easily identifiable; the two younger subordinates additionally had growth suppression in place, but eventually reached full size given enough time.
  • Desert Raptor Pride (V. a. masranii): 3 individuals maintained at a Chilean InGen Security facility for IBRIS research and development between 2012 and 2016. Briefly joined by a Troodon formosus, “Jeanie,” trained by InGen Security under the direction of Kurt Reed. Their present status is undisclosed, though they escaped into the wild in March 2016.
  • Mantah Corp Pride (V. a. masranii): 2 individuals maintained at a Mantah Corp offsite testing facility for technological research and combat entertainment as of 2016. Alpha is not currently known and may be irrelevant due to the pride being a duo. Their current status is undisclosed.
  • Blue and Beta (V. a. masranii): 2 female individuals living in the Western United States, particularly the Cascade Range. Alpha is Blue, a former I.B.R.I.S. specimen, with the only other pride member being her parthenote daughter Beta.

While most raptor prides are highly coordinated, they are not without internal conflict. Squabbles for authority positions have been documented in both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii, often becoming violent and occasionally fatal. Internal conflict has thus far not been observed in V. a. sornaensis. In most cases, though, raptors will defer to the authority of their alpha. In V. a. masranii, authority positions are formed at a very early age and may persist into adulthood. Authority is reinforced by snapping and hissing by the dominant animal. In most cases, the alpha raptor is a female, even when males outnumber females.

A show of submission (right) given by a V. a. nublarensis, Isla Nublar (6/12/1993)

Bonds between Velociraptors of the same pride are incredibly strong. In both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. masranii, animals will have a violent emotional reaction if their packmates are killed; on at least two occasions, raptors have been documented attacking much larger animals in retaliation for the deaths of their packmates.

Raptors are also capable of communicating information highly efficiently. For example, when V. a. nublarensis Randy discovered how to operate door handles, Kim was able to replicate this behavior a few minutes later. The simple puzzle of door-opening has actually been solved by V. a. nublarensis on two other occasions; once by The Big One in order to escape Jurassic Park’s maintenance shed, and once by an unnamed raptor to enter the maintenance and service tunnels. Collective IQ in this species is surprisingly high, as documented by Dr. Henry Wu and Robert Muldoon on February 13, 1992. This collective intelligence is achieved through a three-step process of cognition (raptors form an understanding of their environment), cooperation (raptors are able to act as a cohesive unit), and coordination (raptors are able to collectively focus on a single goal). This process appears to be most advanced in V. a. sornaensis.

Alpha female V. a. sornaensis displaying non-violent dominance behavior in a confrontation, Isla Sorna (6/19/2001)

In V. a. sornaensis, a kind of division of labor appears to exist in prides. The EALC-based pride consisted of a dominant female, who did not engage in combat but instead issued commands to the other raptors. She also confronted the only female member of a rival “pride” of humans which had stolen her eggs, suggesting that she would also engage in disputes with the alphas of rival prides. The confrontation was nonviolent, however, consisting mostly of eye contact and physical touching of the head using her snout. The males of the pride were observed engaging in hunting and combat behavior, suggesting that they are tasked with protecting the territory from outside and obtaining food for the pride. The only other female, presumed to be a subordinate, was never seen alongside the alpha female; when the males joined the alpha female to confront Dr. Alan Grant, the second female was absent. She was also absent during the final confrontation with the humans. This suggests that she was primarily tasked with defending the territory from within, and likely guarding the nests once the pride knew a threat to their eggs was present. The pride recorded in Survivor also had a division of labor, with the alpha male leading the pack during hunting activity while his subordinates assumed either defensive or offensive roles in the hunt.

So far, no association between raptors of differing subspecies has been observed, though they would certainly have coexisted on Isla Nublar following the 2004 evacuation of Isla Sorna. The only example of association of different subspecies comes from the mobile game Jurassic World: The Game, in which the raptor response team briefly joins a pride of wild raptors in Sector 5. However, the two subspecies eventually engaged in nonlethal combat with one another over whether they should kill a group of humans. This incident is not film-canon, as animal trainer Barry Sembène explicitly stated on December 18, 2015 that the raptors had never been out of containment at that point in time. In the Jurassic World: Evolution games, differing subspecies can be kept together without issue.

When not hunting or engaging in territorial behavior, Velociraptors are playful, like most intelligent animals. Younger ones especially enjoy chasing each other, or chewing and clawing at things. Their play behaviors help to hone their skills. This is exemplified in Jurassic World: Evolution 2, where adult raptors will play-fight with each other in non-lethal but nonetheless similar methods used in real fights.

Reproduction

Both V. a. nublarensis and V. a. sornaensis have been documented breeding in the wild (this has not been observed in V. a. masranii, which has only ever been known to reproduce parthenogenetically due to a lack of males). While these observations are not abundant, they do provide much valuable data.

Cloaca of a V. a. nublarensis

Courtship and mating behaviors are unknown at this time, but it is known that the Velociraptor possesses a cloaca which houses the reproductive organs. Between eight and thirteen white, ovular eggs are laid in shallow nests; V. a. nublarensis has been documented nesting between the buttress roots of a Moreton Bay fig, while V. a. sornaensis appears to prefer heavily-forested nesting sites near sources of running water. In at least V. a. sornaensis, eggs are laid sometime before June. The incubation period is unknown, but the lack of cover over the nests indicates that the raptors brood their eggs much like modern birds. The eggs are arranged in upright positions in roughly symmetrical circular patterns. Raptors are highly defensive of their nests, with V. a. sornaensis going to great lengths to retrieve any missing eggs. The existence of a nest may have contributed to the unusually aggressive behavior of Isla Nublar’s primary V. a. nublarensis pride in 1993.

Smaller dinosaurs generally have shorter incubation periods, lasting between three and six months.

When they are ready to hatch, infant raptors push through their eggshells using their snouts, making squealing and whining sounds to draw the adults’ attention. According to John Hammond, they imprint on the first animal they see. In at least V. a. nublarensis, the hatchlings are capable of walking and basic social cohesion almost immediately upon hatching. However, the raptors which hatched on June 11 or 12, 1993 were found by the 1994 InGen cleanup to have died, indicating that they do require parental care in order to survive. The adults protect and feed them until they can fend for themselves, bringing food to the nesting site for them to eat.

Empty nest of V. a. nublarensis found on Isla Nublar (6/12/1993). As a tropical storm had just passed, these tracks must be very fresh, indicating that the animals left the nest together almost immediately after hatching.

If no males exist in an environment, a chemical trigger can cause at least V. a. nublarensis to undergo a biological transformation. This process, called sequential hermaphroditism (specifically, it is protogyny), causes the female’s reproductive organs to disintegrate and become replaced by male reproductive organs. This permits the former female to breed as a male. The reverse of this process, called protandry, would not be possible; this is because the genes which code for this process come from Hyperolius viridiflavus, which can exhibit protogyny but not protandry. Such a transition has only been observed on one occasion on Isla Nublar, and has not been observed in either of the other raptor subspecies.

While only a single V. a. nublarensis nest has been observed, belonging to a pride of formerly eight raptors (reduced to three at some point before June 1993), a pride of at least six V. a. sornaensis was found to have five nests each with large numbers of eggs. As there were only two confirmed females in this pride, versus four males, polygamous behavior is almost certain in this subspecies. The raptors are most likely polyandrous (females mating with multiple males), but the presence of five nests versus four males means that it is highly likely that polygynous behavior (a male mating with multiple females) is also practiced. It is also possible, but unconfirmed, that some of the females may have mated with males belonging to other prides and returned to their own pride to lay their eggs.

Nest of V. a. sornaensis

Maturity in raptors is reached extraordinarily quickly. According to Robert Muldoon, they are capable of killing live prey within eight weeks of hatching; his statements imply that human-sized prey could be killed by an eight-week-old raptor.

Due to genes souced from Varanus albigularis microstictus, the subspecies V. a. masranii is spontaneously parthenogenic. Females can rarely reproduce without mating this way, creating half-clones of themselves. Although the parthenote offspring look nearly identical to their parents, they are genetically distinct. This is because monitor lizards (and dinosaurs genetically engineered to reproduce like them) use terminal fusion to produce parthenotes. During meiosis, a haploid cell called a polar body will be produced along with a normal egg cell, and the polar body will act in the place of sperm. This produces offspring that are homozygous for most traits and inherit about half of their mother’s genome. Both males and females can be produced, since dinosaurs use the ZW chromosome system. However, squamate biology does not allow for true facultative parthenogenesis, since the animals normally reproduce sexually. In Velociraptor, therefore, this process is basically accidental and exceedingly rare. The hatch rate of parthenote offspring is very low; the only known example is the raptor Blue producing the half-clone daughter Beta in the winter of early 2022. Raptors normally lay more than ten eggs, but Beta was Blue’s only surviving offspring.

Communication

Vocal communication among V. antirrhopus is perhaps the most complex of any dinosaur. It has been suggested by some scientists that they have a coherent language. Most of their known vocalizations are used to coordinate behavior, particularly during searching and hunting activity. During hunts and attacks, raptors use multiple different types of vocalizations to announce their actions to other members of the pride, ensuring that each hunter knows what the others are doing. Vocalizations are mostly used when prey is unable to escape easily or has already detected the raptors’ presence; while setting up an ambush in the open, the raptors are silent and rely mostly on body language.

Other vocalizations are used for various kinds of communication. At least V. a. sornaensis appears to be able to communicate information regarding specific items in the environment, which Dr. Alan Grant observed in 2001 while a pride of raptors was searching for stolen eggs. To get the attention of their packmates, a raptor will use a loud barking vocalization, essentially an equivalent of the human “hey!” This is different from the hollow-sounding help cry documented only in V. a. sornaensis, which is only used when a raptor needs backup from its packmates.

A tooth-showing snarl like this is usually displayed in anticipation of feeding, or when excited by the possibility of impending action.

Dominance among raptors of all subspecies is asserted by snapping and hissing. Raptors can also be heard vocalizing while alone, with these sounds indicating emotions such as frustration, anger, or satisfaction.

Non-vocal communication among raptors is also well-established. Eye contact may be used to coordinate during hunts, or to establish dominance. Rapid whipping of the tail or baring of the teeth can indicate excitement, and jaw-gaping is used to show aggression. Raptors can also communicate by tapping their raptorial toe claws on the ground; this can be used to coordinate during stalking of prey, but has also been observed during active pursuit to deliver commands to subordinates. Animal behaviorist Owen Grady used a clicker device to give commands to the raptor response team at Jurassic World, indicating that the clicking sound made by toe-tapping may have other communicative uses.

Ecological Interactions

While Velociraptors are predominantly observed while interacting with humans, we do have some information about their behavior in the wild. As active hunters, they assist in controlling prey animal populations. In particular, they are known to prey on the invasive brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), which would benefit Isla Nublar’s ecosystem. They also prey on cattle (Bos taurus), another artificially-introduced mammal on the island. Raptors also hunt Gallimimus and hadrosaurs such as Parasaurolophus and Edmontosaurus, as well as possibly Iguanodon (if this species indeed exists in the film canon) and juveniles of animals such as Triceratops, which would reduce browsing and grazing pressure on the plant life of the environment. They may steal eggs from animals such as Baryonyx; this would help to control the carnivore population. On rare occasions they will consume low-growing plants such as bracken to supplement their diet with vitamins and nutrients not found in animals, but eating larger amounts of bracken can lead to poisoning and thiamine deficiency. Raptors are also scavengers, meaning that they act to clean up carcasses in the environment which would otherwise become a source of disease.

On such tiny islands as Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, raptors frequently come into conflict with other carnivores in competition for food. The much more enormous Tyrannosaurus, for example, is a frequent competitor; its kleptoparasitic tendencies mean that it willingly steals food that raptors have killed. It may also prey on raptors, though the sharp claws and agility of the raptor make it a potentially dangerous food item. According to Eric Kirby’s account in Survivor, a large enough pride of raptors can overpower and kill an unhealthy tyrannosaur, but raptors will typically avoid conflict with tyrannosaurs and flee if they smell one. Raptors also compete for food with Pteranodon, which inhabit similar territory on Isla Nublar, and may come into conflict with parent dinosaurs protecting their eggs, such as Baryonyx. Raptors will back down from Troodon pectinodon territory, but can be taught to coexist with nonvenomous species of Troodon.

Raptors appear to coexist with Compsognathus without much issue, though these tiny carnivores are also a potential food item. Several appeared to inhabit Blue’s nest in 2018, but they did flee at her approach. A brief symbiotic relationship was struck up between four V. a. masranii and a subadult Indominus rex on December 18, 2015 due to the two species’ similar intelligence and communication techniques, but the relationship ended violently when raptor Blue showed the first sign of defiance of the larger animal’s authority.

On Isla Sorna, raptor territories are known to overlap with those of Ankylosaurus, Stegosaurus, Spinosaurus, and some of the aforementioned species. Any further relationships between the animals are not known, though unused concepts from Jurassic Park /// would have featured a violent conflict between Velociraptor and Spinosaurus. Another alleged deleted scene would have several raptors combat an Ankylosaurus, but there is no evidence that this scene ever existed.

In the game Jurassic World: Evolution, Velociraptors do not prefer to share territory with many other animals. They are also susceptible to hookworm infection. Ride canon expands upon this, explaining how humid environments make hookworm infections common; the raptor medical chart also describes ticks as raptor parasites. Other diseases described in the ride canon include bumblefoot (caused by a foot injury becoming infected), brittle claw (a fungal infection), pink eye (a feces-borne infection of the eye), and ragged tooth (an infection caused by broken teeth). Additionally, their prehistoric ancestors were host to blood-drinking parasites such as mosquitoes; it is not known if the modern versions are affected by hematophagous insects in the same way.

The Dinosaur Protection Group used imagery of a Velociraptor to illustrate the threat that rabies could potentially pose to carnivorous dinosaurs, but there is no evidence that the rabies virus (Rabies lyssavirus) can infect any dinosaur. This is exclusively a mammalian disease. According to the game Jurassic World: Evolution, genetic manipulation has resulted in the dinosaurs becoming somehow susceptible to rabies.

Cultural Significance
Symbolism

Its ancestral species, Velociraptor mongoliensis and Velociraptor osmolskae, have never been brought back from extinction and are not as well-known to the public as the genetically engineered Velociraptorantirrhopus” has become. To the general public, the InGen Velociraptor has come to be the cultural standard for raptor dinosaurs in general, though it only loosely resembles any actual eumaniraptoran species. Its closest natural analogues would be genera such as Deinonychus, which has also been cloned by InGen but is far less popular. To paleontologists, Velociraptor is the prime example of the general public rejecting science in favor of pop culture, and scientists have increasingly attempted to present the naturally-occurring Mongolian Velociraptors in media. Perhaps the greatest point of consternation is the integument, since the original animal was feathered and the genetically-modified clone is scaly. In many cultures scaly animals are seen as colder, scarier, and more masculine than fluffy animals, which is part of the reason the public has so far resisted scientific depictions of raptor dinosaurs.

It can also be seen as symbolizing the advancement (and unpredictability) of genetic engineering. Velociraptor obviously has more alterations from its original form than most other de-extinct animals, except probably Dilophosaurus, and these are the results of shortcuts taken during its creation. Growing to twice its expected size, demonstrating near-human intelligence, and having a reptilian rather than birdlike covering are some of the major noticeable differences. While these may have been unintended, they enhanced its tourist appeal and have been maintained. Other features, such as the ability to change sex from female to male, were less welcome, since they made it difficult to control. Its creator Dr. Henry Wu eventually resolved this problem, but was still working on others (such as the issue of the feather development) in later years.

According to Universal Studios, Velociraptor is the dinosaur of the Aries astrological sign (March 21 – April 19).

In Captivity

Velociraptor‘s complex intelligence makes it not just one of the most difficult dinosaurs, but one of the most challenging animals in general to keep in captivity. The more complex an animal’s intelligence is, the more stimulation it will need in order to remain satisfied, and few more than Velociraptor. It rapidly becomes bored of its surroundings and exhibits maladaptive behaviors if it is not entertained, most of which are destructive toward its restraining technologies, other animals, its caretakers, and sometimes one another. Even when all of its needs are met, it still challenges its boundaries constantly, making it questionable whether this dinosaur can truly flourish in captivity at all.

When it was first created in the early 1990s, very little was known about how it would behave. Paleontology could provide some clues to dinosaur behavior, but since the animals were genetically modified, an element of unpredictability was added, and only live observation could reveal the truth. Jurassic Park warden Robert Muldoon observed raptors along with chief geneticist Dr. Henry Wu, discovering the animals’ high collective intelligence; Muldoon became concerned about security and recommended euthanizing all of them. InGen’s CEO John Hammond disagreed and continued forward with plans to implement the raptors. With so little known about their behavior, it is no real surprise that disaster struck: the newest addition to the Isla Nublar pride rose to power and killed nearly all of the other animals. The raptors bred at around the same time, without InGen’s knowledge; this is probably linked to the bloody conflict that occcurred in the paddock. The three survivors attacked their electric fences during feeding time, but Muldoon observed that they never attacked the same place twice. He surmised that they were probing the fences for weak points.

Eventually the animals were relocated to a tiny holding pen near the Visitor Compound where they could be observed and contained more efficiently. During the relocation, the raptors attacked and killed an InGen employee, leading to a lawsuit from his family that stalled the Jurassic Park project. This directly led to the June 1993 incident.

In spite of the issues caused by raptors in the original Park, Simon Masrani intended to utilize the animals in Jurassic World. The animals’ collective intelligence forced them to ship raptors one at a time, preventing them from making coordinated attacks during transport; the first such raptor was delivered to the quarantine paddock on September 8, 2004. Despite the establishment of reasonable security measures, an incident occurred on the same day which resulted in the death of a Bright Minds intern and the subsequent euthanizing of the raptor involved. Difficulties integrating the raptors into the park continued, with Masrani signing off on projects at the NMS Centre in mid-2012 to use gene suppression to modify the behaviors of three specimens. This was intended to gain a better understanding of the way the raptors’ genome influenced their behavior. As a part of this project, the entire V. antirrhopus genome was mapped by June 10, 2012 by Dr. Amelia Everett and her superior Dr. Svetlanda Mashir.

In 2012, InGen Security initiated the Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study (IBRIS) Project, approved by Simon Masrani. The project had been in the planning stages for nearly a decade; as of September 2004, the raptors were slated for special projects that the lead herbivore caretaker at the time did not have clearance to view. Led by Vic Hoskins, the project was officially intended to study the raptors’ intelligence to integrate them into Jurassic World. Hoskins also intended to determine if they could be applied as military animals, in the way that animals such as dogs are already used. Backed by Eli Mills of the Lockwood Foundation, the project tested at least V. a. nublarensis before conceding that these animals were too aggressive and unpredictable. This led to the creation of V. a. masranii by Dr. Wu, a more docile subspecies which would be raised by ex-Navy animal behaviorist Owen Grady. Four specimens survived, but as they aged, they became more aggressive and challenged Grady’s authority on many occasions. They even attempted to kill Grady directly during an incident on December 18, 2015; later on the same day, Hoskins forced a field test of the raptors, which ended disastrously with the raptors turning on their handlers at the first opportunity.

While Grady did succeed in turning the raptors back to his authority, the deaths of all but one of the specimens during the incident essentially ended the IBRIS Project (a clandestine branch of the operation would persist in Chile for three more months). The sole survivor, Blue, was allowed to roam Isla Nublar freely while the park was closed down and evacuated. A pair of raptors were maintained by Mantah Corp for a period of time after Jurassic World’s closure, using drones to create mobile barriers using the animals’ tracking chips, but even this novel approach was being tested by the raptors. By June 2016, they were testing the drone barriers for weaknesses just like they would a physical fence. They were even able to destroy a Bio-Robotic Assistance Droid, prompting the development of a new model.

No attempt to keep a Velociraptor captive has ever ended well. They are determined escape artists, abhor technological barriers of any kind, and steadfastly refuse human authority once they are grown. Of all de-extinct life, this may be the least possible to hold in captivity with any measure of success.

Science

While its genetic alterations are greatly lamented by paleontologists as a missed opportunity for science communication, Velociraptor antirrhopus has been utilized extensively in genetics. It was one of the last species to be created during the original era of de-extinction between 1985 and 1993, so not much was yet known about it when Jurassic Park failed to open; during the era of Jurassic World, it was well-established in science. The genome of Velociraptor antirrhopus was fully sequenced by mid-2012 by InGen’s Drs. Svetlanda Mashir and Amelia Everett, both of whom worked under Dr. Henry Wu at the North Mount Sibo Genetics Centre. The raptors had already been studied to a degree by Dr. Wu, who considered them inspirational to his research in many ways.

One such way was the realization that he could splice functional genes from one species into the genome of another to result in new physiological traits. When he first created viable raptor DNA for cloning, he filled in decayed sequences with replacement genes from the tree frog species Hyperolius viridiflavus, believing the replacement genes to be functionally similar to those they were filling in for. However, the genes he had selected actually coded for protogyny, enabling the resultant raptors to change sex from female to male. While this was a problem for Jurassic Park, it inspired Wu to continue researching into practical applications of this splicing process. He theorized by 1995 that he could create entirely new life forms using such a procedure, and succeeded in May 1997 with the creation of the hybrid flowering plant Karacosis wutansis. Later, he would repeat the process with animals.

Around the same time the Velociraptor genome was being sequenced, Wu also began work on two new projects that involved this genus. One was the I.B.R.I.S. program, which sought to test and understand the raptors’ cognition. Simon Masrani signed off on the project under the impression that the raptors could be put in a park attraction at Jurassic World if InGen Security could better predict their needs and behaviors, while InGen Security itself had other intents. Vic Hoskins, the head of Security, believed that the raptors were better applied as military animals. Wu was responsible for creating the new batch of raptors, four of which survived, but was more of an advisor on this project than an active participant. His real goals had more to do with the hybridization practices he had discovered in the 1990s. Now he was prepared for animal trials, and in 2008 Masrani and the Board had given him full authorization to do so under the very lax supervision of Jurassic World’s management. Working between the Hammond Creation Lab, NMS Centre, and his field genetics lab, Wu was able to keep his research mostly secret by splitting it between unrelated teams. By 2009, he succeeded in creating a hybrid genus of animal, Scorpios rex. It incorporated the Velociraptor genes linked to intelligence and communication. However, it was a failure; Wu tried again, altering the genome and adding new traits. By now, his work had been partly funded by private and national military interests. The result this time was a bigger theropod called Indominus rex, which was hatched in 2012.

Unfortunately the Indominus failed as a military animal because it could not be given orders. It was intelligent enough to understand them, but had no social inclinations to listen. Wu’s efforts then moved out of the corporate sector as he was charged with bioethical misconduct following the December 2015 incident. His third attempt to create an aggressive but loyal raptor-like predator was the Indoraptor; increasing the proportion of raptor genes was intended to improve its behavior compared to its predecessors. This genus never made it out of the prototype stage, though Wu had plans to use the I.B.R.I.S. specimen Blue as a surrogate parent.

This plan was because of Blue’s results in the I.B.R.I.S. program. While her younger sisters Delta, Echo, and Charlie did exhibit heightened intelligence and loyalty to Blue, only the eldest of the four raptors showed any signs of genuine empathy. She had the capability to understand what other animals were thinking and feeling, indicating that her cognitive capabilities were exceptional even for this highly intelligent species. Because of this trait, she has been used as a behavioral specimen in raptor studies for years since. Wu believed that she could pass on her empathic traits to her offspring. In order to ensure the trait was inherited by new Indoraptors, he intended not only to use her as a surrogate parent, but also replace the stock raptor genes in the Indoraptor genome with Blue’s. This would ensure that any alleles specifically linked to her behavior patterns would be inherited, and that if her empathy was a learned behavior, she would teach it to the new animals as she raised them. This reflects a modern understanding of the “nature versus nurture” debate in which behavior is believed to result from a combination of both.

InGen is not the only company to research raptor behavior; Mantah Corp was making efforts in this field by 2016 with a pair of raptors bred at their offsite facility under Kash D. Langford‘s direction. At the time, the facility’s head researcher was Dr. Mae Turner, who specialized in dinosaur cognition. She mainly studied Tyrannosaurus rex, but the highly intelligent Velociraptor certainly would not have escaped her attention. Unfortunately, her research was terminated in June 2016 by Langford due to her opposition to Mantah Corp’s research objectives. Langford also attempted to terminate Dr. Turner herself by allowing raptors to attack her. The development of the biomimetic robot BRAD-X by Langford was partly inspired by Velociraptor, though chiefly for aesthetic purposes. BioSyn Genetics has also utilized Velociraptor for genetic research, as have independent parties. It is strongly believed that highly-modified Atrociraptors which were first reported in 2022 included InGen’s Velociraptor as a genetic component.

Finally, InGen’s Velociraptor has had some minor applications in paleontological research. Like many animals, it has a resonating chamber which it uses to enhance the sounds it makes by forcing air through it. In 2001, Dr. Alan Grant found fossil evidence that ancient deinonychosaurs had resonating chambers nearly identical to those of InGen’s raptors. This has allowed for study of InGen raptor vocalizations to inform paleontology to a degree, though the extreme intelligence of InGen raptors means that their communication is far more sophisticated than the original.

Politics

Velociraptor is the most intelligent of the de-extinct animals, and thanks to genetic engineering, it is potentially the second-most-intelligent animal on Earth today. The complex nature of its intelligence makes virtually all dealings with it inherently controversial, since it can actually understand what is being done to it. Human-raptor interactions have historically been marred by a large number of incidents resulting from humans underestimating the self-awareness of raptors and neglecting the raptors’ needs and wants.

The earliest political difficulties involving Velociraptor were purely internal InGen affairs. Robert Muldoon, the warden at Jurassic Park from its inception until his death in 1993, believed that the raptors’ intelligence made them too much of a threat to Park safety to be left alive. The proposition to euthanize all of the raptors was met with stern opposition from other staff members including InGen’s CEO Dr. John Hammond, so they were left alive. InGen’s lack of knowledge on raptor biology and behavior led to a number of disasters, culminating with the ones that led to the 1993 incident. Part of this poor information was due to the genetic modifications made by Dr. Henry Wu during the raptors’ creation, which was heavily criticized by Dr. Laura Sorkin but permitted by InGen.

As the general public and governments of the world learned about the existence of de-extinction technology, the potential applications of Velociraptor dramatically expanded, as did the controversies. Obviously it is an efficient predator, and the question of whether this efficiency can be used for human gain has been asked numerous times. InGen seriously considered training raptors to attack on command for over a decade, but efforts never met any amount of success. The closest attempt was the I.B.R.I.S. project, which is the source of most of our present-day information about eumaniraptoran cognition. The proposal to use Velociraptors in place of military technology such as remotely-operated aircraft is strongly rooted in a misunderstanding of what military animals are for. InGen’s Head of Security, Vic Hoskins, had wartime experience but had never worked with animals. The lead trainer on I.B.R.I.S., Owen Grady, was a former member of the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal Program and had trained dolphins; due to this, he understood that animals cannot tell the difference between friendly and enemy combatants and therefore are used only for non-combat missions. Unfortunately his expertise in this department was overridden by Hoskins. Military animals are a controversial topic in general, and training them to kill on command has regrettably entered the discussion. Attempts have been made by Mantah Corp using technological methods of control, though they have failed. Thankfully, no efforts to do this have been made on the larger scale.

The combat applications of Velociraptor extend to its genetics, since its DNA has been utilized for the creation of biological weapons. While there are strict regulations in place controlling biowarfare, most of these laws are related specifically to pathogenic microorganisms; bioengineering macroscopic organisms specifically as weapons was never done before Dr. Henry Wu succeeded at it in 2012. It is still a very new field of work, with only failures so far. Laws regarding science and technology are notorious for becoming outdated at a rapid pace, since legal policy is sluggish compared to technological advancement. Governmental efforts to curtail military bioengineering are therefore lacking.

Animal rights remains a prominent issue with Velociraptor. Due to exploitation and poor management practices, the population of this dinosaur has dropped precipitously since the era of Jurassic World; as of 2018 it was strongly believed that only one individual remained, the I.B.R.I.S. specimen Blue. Her status was mostly unknown between 2015 and 2018 as little research into Isla Nublar was done after Jurassic World closed (an incident that was partly due to Velociraptor being mishandled by InGen Security).

Poster featuring Blue released by the Dinosaur Protection Group.

Mount Sibo became active in early 2017, with geological studies suggesting it would eventually experience a catastrophic eruption. Isla Nublar was threatened by this, and rescuing its de-extinct inhabitants became a matter of great controversy. Shortly before the volcanic activity was detected, Claire Dearing (Jurassic World’s Operations Manager and Asset Manager, 2007-2015) founded the Dinosaur Protection Group with the intent to provide for the abandoned animals’ well-being. Its primary mission shifted to rescue when Mount Sibo became active. Masrani Global Corporation, despite owning Isla Nublar through a lease from Costa Rica, cited financial difficulty as a justification for taking no action to save the animals, and the U.S. Congress decided that since the park was a private corporate venture the government had no jurisdiction there. The real reason for this decision was not hidden, though: the government wanted all traces of de-extinction wiped off the map, to give this science a “clean slate.” Rescuing carnivores like Velociraptor was especially controversial; some people suggested leaving them to die, while relocating herbivorous animals under the false impression that plant-eaters are safe and friendly. The DPG instead referenced raptors as one of the commonly exploited animals for the precise reason of its carnivorous predatory nature.

When the U.S. government’s non-action policy was announced, the DPG was contacted by the Lockwood Foundation, as its founder Sir Benjamin Lockwood had already come up with a contingency plan. The morning after the government stated its intention to do nothing, the DPG was sent to rendezvous with a mercenary hunter team headed by Ken Wheatley to capture the dinosaurs. Dearing recruited Blue’s trainer and father figure Owen Grady for the mission, as capturing her was of high importance. In the end, the rescue mission was a facade for something larger: the Lockwood Foundation’s manager Eli Mills had hired the mercenaries with instructions to relocate the dinosaurs to the Lockwood estate near Orick, California instead of to his employer’s private island. Lockwood himself was unaware of the deception. Blue was intended to be repurposed for Henry Wu‘s continued hybridization research.

Due to events surrounding the black-market auction held there on June 24, Blue was released from the laboratory, which was subsequently destroyed. Along with the other unsold animals she escaped into the wild.

Resources

In theory, Velociraptor would make an excellent tourist attraction since its intelligence could enable it to learn tricks, perform for audiences, and exhibit a wide range of natural behaviors that would entertain people. No two encounters with a raptor would play out in quite the same way. Tourists are already enamored with intelligent animals such as cetaceans, primates, and birds; raptors would be a welcome addition. There is one key difference, though: most intelligent animals kept in zoos today do not view humans as a preferred food source. Raptors do, and herein lies the problem.

Genetic modification has resulted in a Velociraptor that is vastly more intelligent than its ancestor, outclassing even many intelligent mammals and birds that exist naturally. Some suggest its cognitive capacity is second only to that of the human. This presents a second major issue with housing and displaying Velociraptor. Much like a person kept in a cage, these dinosaurs know that they are being contained and will actively resist. They regularly look for escape, and will take any chance they can find to achieve freedom. Since they regularly prey on humans, an escape is immediate cause for concern. InGen spent two decades and tens of millions of dollars to find a way to safely and effectively exhibit Velociraptor in captivity. All efforts failed.

The most famous example of an effort to “tame” Velociraptor was the I.B.R.I.S. Project, an InGen Security venture carried out between 2012 and 2016. Results were initially promising, with the raptors showing a great ability to understand and respond to commands; the oldest surviving specimen, Blue, even exhibited empathy. Head trainer Owen Grady was able to get the raptors to comprehend at least forty different commands and respond correctly 73% of the time. They were still far from park-ready as of late 2015, and Grady and his associate Barry Sembène both believed the animals would never be suitable for combat. As the raptors matured they had become less obedient, challenging Grady’s authority and attempting escape. Once fully-grown, they were functionally independent. Attempts to control them only ended with failure. Grady himself openly stated that controlling them was neither possible nor desirable; a mutually respectful relationship was a best-case scenario. Because Jurassic World closed on December 22, 2015, I.B.R.I.S. was dealt a heavy blow. From there on it went covert, operating at a clandestine InGen facility in the Chilean Atacama Desert. This branch of the operation was shut down by vigilante scientists three months later. Efforts to develop technology which would control Velociraptor behavior for entertainment purposes have been made by Mantah Corp executive Kash Langford, but so far success has not been had.

While training raptors for combat is widely considered impossible, the fact that they can learn to take orders has inspired further efforts at engineering military animals. The first such effort was the Indominus rex, an artificial hybrid species which incorporated Velociraptor genes associated with intelligence and communication. This species was the second hybrid theropod created by Henry Wu utilizing Velociraptor, preceded by Scorpios rex. It was considered a failure, but efforts to perfect its lineage continued into 2018, years after Henry Wu was stripped of his credentials and wanted for bioethical misconduct. The final stage of this project was the Indoraptor, though plans to further improve it were underway. Wu had made efforts to obtain Blue’s genotype throughout 2018, intending to use this as a means to modify Indoraptor behavior. Furthermore, Blue was to act as a surrogate mother for the next generation, giving them a parental figure to imprint upon and learn from. Though he did not succeed, other companies going forward did use Velociraptor DNA as a resource to build from. It is generally believed that genetically modified Atrociraptors bred in the early 2020s included Velociraptor genes.

Blue was the only animal during the 2018 capture operation on Isla Nublar who was not intended to be sold on the black market, but she would almost certainly fetch an extreme price. Even her DNA is enormously valuable, as would be the DNA of any raptor. Unfortunately, there are few practical applications for this animal that do not involve violence. It feeds on small mammals such as rats, but using it for pest control would be expensive and dangerous. Similarly, the InGen IntraNet website implies that it was once considered as a fodder animal for Tyrannosaurus rex, but again this would be a needless risk with high costs involved.

On a much less confrontational note, discarded teeth from Velociraptor were sometimes made into jewelry such as necklaces in Jurassic World. Claws from the toes are highly valued items as well; Dr. Alan Grant and Eric Kirby both kept one, a fossilized and fresh specimen respectively. However, Dr. Grant discarded his fossil while in a melancholy contemplative state during the 1993 incident, carelessly losing an irreplaceable specimen. At the time, he believed that de-extinction would ultimately replace traditional paleontology; his actions reflected this anxiety.

Safety

Velociraptor is, at the moment, exceedingly rare. However, it is also one of the most dangerous de-extinct predators for its advanced intelligence and athleticism. It has been implicated in a large number of attacks on humans, both provoked and unprovoked, many of which were fatal. While many of these attacks were the result of poor living conditions, a few occurred in the wild, involving animals that were not kept in captivity. This dinosaur’s diet includes small mammals, and humans are well within the range of creatures it will hunt.

Actually facing down an attacking Velociraptor is a challenge few people survive, and doing so often comes down purely to luck. Instead of relying on special circumstances or random chance to save your life, it is better to be prepared. You are most at risk if you live in a rural area; raptors try to avoid human contact, but will not vacate an area simply because humans appear in it. They will establish themselves in many types of environment, including forests and grasslands, and also abandoned infrastructure such as old buildings. Keep watch for signs of raptor activity: these include two-toed footprints, skittish behavior in prey animals, and animal carcasses with signs of stab wounds and gnawing. Report these to the relevant authorities; removing the raptors yourself is extremely ill-advised.

To avoid a confrontation, travel in groups and do not separate from your companions. Raptors are social like humans, and rarely hunt alone. If they sense that your group can be divided, they are more likely to attack. Stay close together, act confident, and never let your guard down. If the raptors sense a weak link they will pick you off one by one. Should you find yourself outnumbered, do not act frightened, but assume a submissive posture (do not play dead, this will not work). Keep weaker members of your party in the middle, and leave no one’s back exposed. Show the raptors that you are not looking for a fight, and hopefully they will decide you are not a threat. The alpha may try to confront whoever it decides is your leader; if you find yourself appointed to this position, show confidence but do not respond to efforts to challenge you. Instead, try to show that you are willing to cooperate for the benefit of both your group and the raptor pride.

Male V. a. sornaensis kills mercenary Udesky, Isla Sorna (6/19/2001). Previously, the raptors had broken the man’s spine to use him as bait; when the trap did not succeed, this male raptor broke the man’s neck seemingly out of spite. This demonstrates the capacity to hold a grudge and to kill for reasons outside of predation or self-defense.

If you expect a raptor attack it is best to equip yourself thoroughly. Carry anything you can easily use as a weapon; if firearms are not available to you, a knife or blunt object will suffice. Also preferable are objects you can use as shields. Notable raptor attack survivor Eric Kirby lived on Isla Sorna for eight weeks amidst raptors during the breeding season by being resourceful with his weapons and shields: he utilized items as diverse as shock prods, gas grenades, computer manuals, throwing darts, a tile knife, flashlights, and natural objects such as rocks to defend himself. He also used a mirror to peer around corners, and selected his sleeping places carefully by building makeshift barricades or concealing any openings with natural-looking cover. What you wear is just as important as what you carry; thick clothing and helmets will protect you from the raptors’ piercing claws and serrated teeth. Eric Kirby survived a full-frontal raptor attack by donning padded clothes and a protective helmet. He also kept himself disguised using a makeshift ghillie suit made from foliage, and used tyrannosaur urine to hide his scent. Raptors naturally fear healthy adult tyrannosaurs, but you will probably not find puddles of tyrannosaur urine around to sample. Instead, avoid wearing cologne or perfume in raptor territory, and do not carry food with you. If you are carrying food when you are attacked, drop the food and flee; if the raptor is hunting, it may choose the easier meal. Noted raptor behavior expert Owen Grady recommends this as a distraction tactic.

How you behave around raptors will also influence your survival rate. While unprovoked attacks have been reported (due to raptors viewing humans as prey), the majority of attacks were preventable and the fault of the humans. Causes range from poor treatment in captivity to interference with raptor nesting grounds, but nearly all occurred because the raptors felt threatened or mistreated. Some of the raptors you encounter in the wild may be escapees from captivity, and it is sadly common for these animals to be victims of neglect or abuse; they probably already mistrust humans, so it will be imperative that you not provoke them further. Raptors have excellent senses and will know you are coming before you know they are there, so you may not even see them even if they are close. If one allows you to see it, then it means it is not afraid of you. An incautious raptor is a rare sight, though: it probably has companions nearby. Rather than focus solely on the raptor you can see, concentrate on getting yourself to a safe, defensible position without making sudden movements or showing fear. If you run, they will chase you, and that is not a race you can win.

In an ambush, the raptors have the advantage of strategy. They have probably been planning this attack for longer than you knew they were there, and you may only have seconds to react. Most theropods’ biggest weak points are their eyes, and raptor eyes are large to endow them with good night vision. If it is dark, shining a bright light in their eyes may briefly blind them, and if you are carrying a self-defense aerosol such as bear spray, you can overwhelm them and give yourself a chance to escape. Do not rely on any one shelter for long, though: they are extremely strategic, and can find ways into all but the most secure of hiding places. Take full advantage of your primate biology to evade them, such as climbing or crawling to places they have a hard time following into. Use technology as well; sturdy locked doors can hold them off, and a large enough vehicle may serve as a temporary shelter. They are too small to roll most vehicles, but are persistent enough to break through a glass window. Basically, you should present yourself as non-intimidating enough for the raptors to not feel threatened by your presence, but too difficult to kill to be worth the effort.

One final way you might be able to defend yourself is through a simple bit of social engineering. All raptor social groups, sometimes called prides, are led by a dominant individual referred to as the alpha. This is the boldest and strongest animal, often a female, and can be identified by its leadership of the others. It will usually act as the spearhead in attacks, giving orders to the other raptors and being the one to make the kill. Authority among raptors is fairly rigid and competition for power can lead to confrontation. If you can determine which raptors are lower in rank, try to get one of them to make a move before the alpha. In many cases, the alpha will become distracted by insubordination. Infighting may be just the diversion you need to get away. You can also observe the raptors’ behavior and pick up on any social weaknesses they may possess. For example, the three raptors living at the NMS Centre on Isla Nublar had short attention spans, so making distracting noises and staying out of their lines of sight were effective ways to evade them.

Surviving a raptor attack may seem like a losing battle, but it has been done. Now that raptors are living in the wild rather than captivity, attacks are probably fewer, but it always pays to be ready. Respect their territories, and rely on experts to relocate them rather than trying to dispel them yourself. Demonstrate that you are not actively threatening them, but that you are not easy prey either. Always travel in groups for protection. Velociraptor is a highly intelligent and social predator, perfectly adapted for what it does, but so are we. Humans have evolved over countless generations into their present state and this is not without reason. Raptors understand that we are apex predators, and if we in turn do not underestimate them, some form of coexistence may become possible.

Behind the Scenes

The names of the raptors “Randy” and “Kim” are derived from their respective animators, Randal Dutra and Kimberly Blanchette, and were not names assigned to the actual raptors by anyone associated with the film. They are maintained here for the sake of convenience.

At one point, V. a. nublarensis was going to be featured in Jurassic Park /// before being replaced by a visually distinct animal. Likewise, V. a. sornaensis was going to be featured in Jurassic World at one point, before being replaced by the animals seen in the final film, which were intended to hark back to the original film‘s raptors.

The decision to not represent accurately-feathered raptors in Jurassic World was most likely the driving force behind paleontologist Dr. Brian Switek cutting ties with Universal Studios and becoming a vehement opponent of the new additions to the Jurassic franchise. This sentiment has become widespread in the paleontological community. According to some insiders, Dr. Switek illustrated a feathered Velociraptor for the Jurassic World website, but producer Steven Spielberg encouraged director Colin Trevorrow not to use the new, updated and accurate design. Trevorrow, of course, has been given the brunt of blame for not making Jurassic World dinosaurs accurate to modern paleontological knowledge.

Notable Individuals

The Big One and SubordinatesV. a. nublarensis bred for Jurassic Park; deceased in 1993

Laboratory Raptor Hatchling – Isla Nublar – V. a. nublarensis bred in captivity in 1993

Wild Raptor Hatchlings – Isla Nublar – V. a. nublarensis bred in the wild in 1993

Second Raptor Pride – Isla Nublar – pride of V. a. nublarensis intended to replace deceased specimens

Worker Village Velociraptors – pride of V. a. nublarensis controlling grassland territory on Isla Sorna

Red Rings and Subordinates – pride of V. a. sornaensis on Isla Sorna as of early 2001

Velociraptor antirrhopus sornaensis Alpha Female – leader of a V. a. sornaensis pride as of mid-2001

Subject A-2 – terminated I.B.R.I.S. specimen

Subject V-2 – terminated I.B.R.I.S. specimen

Blue – I.B.R.I.S. specimen notable for empathic behavior

Delta – I.B.R.I.S. specimen notable for hunting prowess; deceased in 2015

Echo – I.B.R.I.S. specimen with notable facial scarring; deceased in 2015

Charlie – I.B.R.I.S. specimen notable for unpredictability; deceased in 2015

Beta – Half-clone parthenote of Blue

Desert Raptors – I.B.R.I.S. specimens utilized at the Atacama facility

Disambiguation Links

Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (J/N)

Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (L/M)

Velociraptor “giganticus” (C/N)

Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (T/C)

Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (IDW-DG)

Velociraptor “antirrhopus nublarensis” (IDW-JPR)

Velociraptor “antirrhopus” (CB-Topps)