Pack hunter. Smaller than in Jurassic Park. Unique switchblade claw. Evident intelligence.

The pieces we know of dinosaurs like Velociraptor lead me to believe their hunting style is even more terrible than the way we think of these dinosaurs, the term that literally means “terrible lizard.”

Raptors are pack hunters. What we know about all hunters is that there is an element of danger in the pursuit of prey bigger than the individual. Due to the danger, each member of the pack has to be specially suited to deal the most damage while taking the risk. This theory concurs.

The dinosaurs shown in Jurassic Park are actually represented larger than the average velociraptor, although, according to the book “Lifesize Dinosaurs” by Sophy Henn, the species Utahraptor may have been that large with the raptor toe claw. Being smaller, though, is part of my theory of hunting technique.

The switchblade is nice as a dagger, but consider this- their hands would probably evolve first if it was for slicing open bellies or dealing fatal blows. No, my theory is slightly different.

In my theory, intelligence contributed to the reason for the toe claw and made it possible for raptors to rapidly assess danger while dealing fatal blows, because they were dedicated to bringing down the prey with their whole being. My theory:

I believe that switchblade raptors used their toe claws to hold on to the bodies of dinosaurs as an anchor on each foot, digging into the hide of their Brachiosaurus or Triceratops type herbivore prey. Their intelligence stems from the most strategic pack hunters landing killing blows, ensuring they had food and were victorious while keeping their life, and so able to pass on their genes to the next generation of pack assassins. Being petite would be alright since they hunted in a group, and would improve how nimble they were while anchored to a victim. Lots of little strikers would drain the life from even a large herbivore. They would withstand a rodeo on the back of a Parasaurolophus while biting, clawing, and carving.

While Velociraptors in the kitchen have always stuck with me, to think that for their whole lifetime prehistoric animals had to deal with these menaces with toe anchors attached to intelligent jaws is more scary than any Halloween movies I’ve seen advertised this year and would make me think twice about jumping into that timeline via time machine.

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