Velociraptor antirrophus "sornaensis"

Length: 12 feet (male), 13 feet (female)
Height: 5 feet
Weight: 180 pounds

## **Coloration:**

*Male –* Upper color can vary between brown and blue with a
 creamy brown underbelly and a light blue stripe running along each
side of the body. The prominent ridges on the snouts of dominant males
are bright red. In addition, the dominant male gains a red tint along
his back and tail to signify superiority; his blue stripe is more
prominent and the scales surrounding the eye socket becomes a dark
blue. The colors of subordinate males are much less vivid. The backs of
 males' heads are lined with dark gray quills. The eyes are reddish
orange.

*Female –* Creamy white with black blotches on their bodies. The eyes are amber in color.

*Juvenile (male) –* Blue-gray all over. Gains color as it ages.

*Juvenile (female) –* Creamy white all over, gains markings as it ages starting out brown before darkening into the black of the adults.

## **Diet:**

Carnivorous, able to take mammals and small herbivores when alone and hadrosaurs when in packs.

## **Preferred Habitat:**

Wide range of habitats from jungle, grassland and wetland, even taking up residence in abandoned InGen sites.

## **Social Structure:**

Hierarchical packs similar to that of a wolf, with an alpha male and/or female.

## **Description:**

Small bipedal carnivore. The jaws are lined with
many sharp, serrated teeth and the grasping three-fingered hands are
equipped with strong, sharp talons. A raptor's most infamous feature is
 an enlarged "killing claw" on the second toe of each hind foot,
resembling a scythe. The claw is capable of being swivelled in a
downward, slicing arc to stab and slash at prey. Adult male V.
sornaensis have hollow quills at the back of their heads. Both sexes
have raised snout ridges, which are vibrantly colored in dominant males.
 The quills each have a tiny muscle at their base and thus are capable
 of independent movement. Juvenile males have tiny 'stubs' at the back
of their heads, from which the quills will eventually grow. The *Velociraptors* are actually engineered from the genes of *Deinonychus*, which attributes to their larger size.

**Behaviors:**

 The Velociraptors are among the deadliest and the
most intelligent of carnivorous dinosaurs cloned by InGen. Pack-hunters,
 Velociraptors stalk their prey slowly and patiently. One member of the
 pack will deliberately show itself, unnerving the victim in order to
distract it from the oncoming attack from the other raptors hidden at
the victims' sides and rear. A raptor's claws are used in conjunction
with its teeth to rip and tear into the victim's flesh, inflicting
terrible wounds from which it dies a slow, painful death through
blood-loss or shock. A raptor may also employ its claws as hooks to
climb up onto the bodies of large prey in order to reach the more
vulnerable areas, such as the neck or spine. The Sornaensis Velociraptor
 is slightly shorter in height and more lightweight than its
Nublarensis relatives, but what it lacks in brute strength it makes up
for in speed and agility. It is built for high speed running, and it is
 one of the fastest predators on the island, capable of running at
speeds of up to 75 mph across open land. The powerful hind legs also
enable the Sornaensis raptor to leap to incredible heights, as well as
deliver powerful kicks to send its killer claw slicing through the
belly of its prey, spilling the intestines. Unlike Nublar raptors,
which prefer to use sheer brutality and aggression to disable their
prey, Sorna raptors are more cunning in their actions and motives;
utilizing their environment to their advantage and taking time to
formulate plans to lure their prey into carefully laid out traps.

Raptors mate for life. Couples within a pack will typically take the
alpha pair's lead to mate at the same time, so females lay their eggs
together. This boosts the chances of their offspring surviving and
encourages socialization between juveniles. Nests are built quite close
 to one another, often in difficult to reach areas far from the stomping
 grounds of much bigger predators. The chicks are able to move about
with the adults soon after hatching, but being too young to accompany
the adults on hunts, they are hidden in burrows or other small, cramped
 spaces where they wait until the adults return. The adults store
regurgitated meat in their crops specifically to feed the young, and the
 alpha's chicks always take priority. As they grow stronger and more
active, the juveniles begin to hunt small prey such as lizards, mammals,
 and invertebrates by themselves, learning co-operative behavior and
vital life skills as they do so. Both raptor subspecies will ferociously
 guard their nests, and packs of Sornaensis raptors have been known to
 go to great lengths to retrieve any eggs or young that has been seized
 by a predator.

To avoid inbreeding within their ranks, raptor packs replenish their
gene pools by frequently accepting fresh blood in the form of rogue
adults. A thorough inspection is always carried out beforehand,
involving the alpha pair sniffing around the newcomer while the rest of
 the pack forms a tight ring around the newcomer to prevent escape. The
 newcomer needs to be healthy, strong, capable, and submissive to the
alphas of the pack; and the alphas will often snap or lash out to
provoke the newcomer into a reaction. If the alphas are satisfied, they
 will allow the newcomer to stay, although a close eye will be kept on
the new recruit for a time afterwards. If the newcomer is deemed too old
 and weak, diseased, not compliant enough to the alpha's standards or
there is simply no room within the pack, it is likely the newcomer will
 be rejected, either being killed by the pack or chased from the
territory. If a pack grows too large for local resources to accommodate
 its needs; or if tensions are running high between its members
(typically after the death or displacement of an alpha), the pack will
either attempt to kill off one another to reduce its members, or it will
 disband, with members often seeking out new packs elsewhere or simply
 going rogue for a time. Sometimes the pack forms again with at least a
 few of the same members within the same territory, when food becomes
abundant again.

Raptors are well known for their high intelligence. They are capable
of advanced communication with others of their kind, enabling them to
better plan out attacks on their prey, and they are also among the most
 vocal of Isla Sorna's bestiary, capable of communicating with over
2,000 different sounds including barks, hisses, chirps and screams.
While both Velociraptor subspecies share the same intellect and are
both capable of advanced communication between others of their kind, of
 the two subspecies it is the Sornaensis Velociraptor which is more
inclined to use its communicative abilities to resolve disputes rather
than resort to violence which the Nublarensis subspecies is prone to.
Arguments are settled through vocalizations and body language rather
than tooth and claw, with the occasional involvement of the alpha to
prevent quarrels from becoming more serious. Physical altercations are
rare, and only in extreme circumstances - i.e. a lack of food, too large
 a pack, old or sick alphas being challenged, or preventing rival packs
 from muscling in on their territory - do fights escalate to this
level. The young, while competitive, do not normally attempt to kill
one another off as Nublarensis raptor chicks do unless a chick is
doomed from the start; for example if it has an affliction that renders
 it unlikely to survive beyond its infancy.

The Sornaensis raptor is also a highly expressive animal, the male in
 particular thanks to his flexible quills. Before mating, the male shows
 off his strength and prowess to his partner by flicking his quills,
lowering his body, swaying his hindquarters and vocalizing very
elegantly, to which the female - if receptive - responds. Erect quills
also indicates dominance, and it is considered insubordinate or an
outright challenge for a lower-ranked individual to show his quills when
 facing the alpha male. Relaxed quills show submission, but the quills
 can also twitch involuntarily when the animal is confused or surprised.
 The most dominant males are also the most colorful, with the dominant
 male being the most vibrant. Other males of varying ranks are
significantly less colorful, with the lowest ranked male being the
dullest of them all. Rather than use of color, the dominant female is
much more reliant on body language. This makes it easy for members of a
 pack to identify the most important individuals in the hierarchy.

The Sornaensis Velociraptor is generally more active during the day,
which reduces the chance of its nocturnal Nublarensis relatives from
running into them and causing conflict.

**Important Notice to Our Players:** Mixed packs and hybridization
 between V. nublarensis and V. sornaensis is prohibited in this RP.
While Live the Legend allowed hybrid characters, its successor Return
to New Lands does not. Please respect the decisions of the staff. Thank
 you.