Velociraptor antirrophus "sornaensis"

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.