Velociraptor, the "Speedy Thief,"
is an insanely popular dinosaur due
to its star status in popular
movies. However, the real Veloci-
raptor is very different from the 
man-sized, scaly monsters depicted
by Hollywood. True Velociraptors
were unimposingly small, only two
meters long and one and a half 
meters tall. They also had feathers,
like a bird. Functionally, these
feathers likely helped to attract 
potential mates, cover nests while
brooding, increase speed while 
running uphill, and maintain balance
while hunting.

Discovered in modern day Mongolia,
the Velociraptor lived in arid 
environments consisting of mainly 
sand dunes. It lived during the late
Cretaceous Period but disappeared 
before the mass extinction that 
killed the dinosaurs. During its 
tenure on Earth, the Velociraptor
scoured the deserts for vulnerable 
prey, such as its famous adversary, 
Protoceratops. It hunted and killed
small prey with a method called 
"raptor prey restraint," in which it
attacked the prey, pinned it down, 
and started to eat it alive. The
"RPR" method helps to explain the 
purpose of the iconic dromeosaur
sickle-claws: holding on! Another
possible use for these claws may
have been climbing trees, which 
would certainly mean some poor
animals experienced death from 
above.
