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Today's Document
Noah Kahan
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@raptortastic
Part time raptor wrangler and part time veteran on the weekends—What do you mean I don’t look the part?
I don’t really ever use these things. Anyway, my name is Owen. Ex Jurassic World worker and survivor and fan of most things dinosaur. Feel free to send in asks I guess?
What would you say is the worst injury you received while working at Jurassic World? Did they at least give you hazard pay?
I didn’t get too injured while working at the park, but there was a time where one of the smaller raptors—one that wasn’t mine, bit me on the arm. Still have a nasty scar from it. I did get hazard pay, and had good insurance too. Kinda have to if you’re paying people to work with extinct giant reptiles.
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
“You two can have fun with that. I heard he’s been studying their calls again, something about a… Complex language. Very comforting, just as much as mm… You saying there’s more we’ve brought back. And please tell me they’re not an Indominus, indo-rex-raptor whatever monstrosities… I think we’ve had enough of those.”
“Are you… Expecting me to pet one? Perhaps feed it some snacks from my hand? I’m sure we’ll grow a- a fantastic bond just like the canines we’ve domesticated over thousands of years.”
I guess? He’s been yapping to me about raptor behavior, more specifically their intellect and understanding to what level they’re trainable.
And no, Deinonychus is NOT a hybrid! Those were…not suppose to be made. Those were animals whose dna was twisted and mutilated in a lab to suit the purpose of profit. Your degree is based on why that’s a bad idea. Need I explain more?
And I never said that. Though I’m sure interacting with anything that isn’t a paper and pencil or a small furry animal would do you a world of good.
[ Ian sucked in a breath through his teeth. He shook his head and pondered for a second on whether he should actually be this pedantic. ]
"Ahhh, they're- they're all hybrids. Not exactly the same animals who had their shot at life, Owen... My PhD is what gives me full confidence that... That none of them should be here. And for the record, I was among the first to transition to using computers..."
"But-but, sure. You can take me to see this Deinonychus and uhh, show me what it looks like. Perhaps I can bring Alan along. It would be good to see him again."
None of them should be here. That’s right. But they are—and we should have been happy enough with the ones we had then to just go and start creating new ones.
And really? I figured that would take a lot more convincing. Or is it just an excuse to see Alan?
You’d probably like raptors a lot more than you’d think. They’re pretty smart.
Parabola is, anyway.
“Well, no use just sitting around being unaware of the dangerous creatures pried out of extinction for the sake of greed. Better the dinosaur you know than ah, the dinosaur you don't, I guess. Hey, I could visit Alan at any time, it’s just that he’d… Like to see this. I think. The more people around who know how raptors work, the better.”
“Parabola? I’m surprised you know that word.”
I know plenty of words! Believe it or not I took basic statistics.
If you’re bringing Alan along, he might much rather meet her than the Deinonychus. Parabola is the dinosaur he helped discover, I think.
“In that case, it would definitely help you to be more involved in the realm of statistics and data analysis. Might help you predict the ways in- in which these dinosaurs proliferate around the world and mm, behave, to some extent. You know, before our ecosystem collapses…”
“…Parabola is a Utahraptor? Wow, that’s ah, so much worse… Better, I mean. Fantastic, amazing. Alan will be thrilled.”
You’re talking probabilities mathematics? That was a part of my statistics class…I think. I know the basics of if. I don’t find any use in trying to guess what might happen, though. Life’s much funner when you don’t know. And I was never good enough at that stuff to apply it anyway, sorry to disappoint.
And yea, she is. A pretty smart one. You should work on being nicer to raptors or she might catch on. Can’t guarantee Alan will save you.
“Some things Owen, you can not predict. So you have that. Still, I think anyone especially of your discipline can um… Benefit from learning more about Chaos Theory and predicting what may seem unpredictable. Ethology I find often plays to the ah, human need to find patterns as well. Mathematics has helped –even saved– many species.”
[ He went from being visibly irritable to a warmer, relaxed demeanour. No matter who, hearing someone say they’ll never be good at math, or that they’re not cut out for it. It burned up the teacher inside him. ]
“Practice makes perfect, no one is incapable of learning and applying such a science.”
[ He pulled out a business card, flipping it over and scribbling an address onto it. ]
“Here, i’m lecturing at a university not far from here next month. Feel free to drop in. Or-, or don’t. Your choice… Maybe you can teach me a thing or two about raptor manners.”
Owen falls quiet, seeming as if he’s unable to figure out how to respond even if he knows how he wants to. For someone as usually confident as him, it doesn’t seem like he is. Not in the moment, anyway.
“ I’ll have to take you up on it. I uhhh…never finished that class. Mainly because finances cut that short for me. I suppose…learning whether or not Parabola might jump at me could be helpful. “
Nice to see you here, Owen Grady! As a fellow ethologist/animal behavioralist, I’m just dying to ask you about working with a previously extinct species! What an amazing opportunity!!! How have you had to adapt your technique to fit the velociraptors specifically?
-from @scientistspotted (Dr Sarah Harding)
Hello Dr. Harding! I’ve heard about you. You’re the lady that works with or is interested in hyenas right?
I use to work with canines before I came to work at Jurassic World, so I did have to change how I did things a lot. Both are incredibly smart species…however we know one of the two is far more intelligent. I had to do a lot of research and work with the lab and also by myself. I found studying modern birds to be quite helpful, specifically raptors and Seriema. I also had to definitely physically work out to keep up with them as they grew. It was really a matter of putting in the effort to know them in all ways I could.
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
“You two can have fun with that. I heard he’s been studying their calls again, something about a… Complex language. Very comforting, just as much as mm… You saying there’s more we’ve brought back. And please tell me they’re not an Indominus, indo-rex-raptor whatever monstrosities… I think we’ve had enough of those.”
“Are you… Expecting me to pet one? Perhaps feed it some snacks from my hand? I’m sure we’ll grow a- a fantastic bond just like the canines we’ve domesticated over thousands of years.”
I guess? He’s been yapping to me about raptor behavior, more specifically their intellect and understanding to what level they’re trainable.
And no, Deinonychus is NOT a hybrid! Those were…not suppose to be made. Those were animals whose dna was twisted and mutilated in a lab to suit the purpose of profit. Your degree is based on why that’s a bad idea. Need I explain more?
And I never said that. Though I’m sure interacting with anything that isn’t a paper and pencil or a small furry animal would do you a world of good.
[ Ian sucked in a breath through his teeth. He shook his head and pondered for a second on whether he should actually be this pedantic. ]
"Ahhh, they're- they're all hybrids. Not exactly the same animals who had their shot at life, Owen... My PhD is what gives me full confidence that... That none of them should be here. And for the record, I was among the first to transition to using computers..."
"But-but, sure. You can take me to see this Deinonychus and uhh, show me what it looks like. Perhaps I can bring Alan along. It would be good to see him again."
None of them should be here. That’s right. But they are—and we should have been happy enough with the ones we had then to just go and start creating new ones.
And really? I figured that would take a lot more convincing. Or is it just an excuse to see Alan?
You’d probably like raptors a lot more than you’d think. They’re pretty smart.
Parabola is, anyway.
“Well, no use just sitting around being unaware of the dangerous creatures pried out of extinction for the sake of greed. Better the dinosaur you know than ah, the dinosaur you don't, I guess. Hey, I could visit Alan at any time, it’s just that he’d… Like to see this. I think. The more people around who know how raptors work, the better.”
“Parabola? I’m surprised you know that word.”
I know plenty of words! Believe it or not I took basic statistics.
If you’re bringing Alan along, he might much rather meet her than the Deinonychus. Parabola is the dinosaur he helped discover, I think.
“In that case, it would definitely help you to be more involved in the realm of statistics and data analysis. Might help you predict the ways in- in which these dinosaurs proliferate around the world and mm, behave, to some extent. You know, before our ecosystem collapses…”
“…Parabola is a Utahraptor? Wow, that’s ah, so much worse… Better, I mean. Fantastic, amazing. Alan will be thrilled.”
You’re talking probabilities mathematics? That was a part of my statistics class…I think. I know the basics of if. I don’t find any use in trying to guess what might happen, though. Life’s much funner when you don’t know. And I was never good enough at that stuff to apply it anyway, sorry to disappoint.
And yea, she is. A pretty smart one. You should work on being nicer to raptors or she might catch on. Can’t guarantee Alan will save you.
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
“You two can have fun with that. I heard he’s been studying their calls again, something about a… Complex language. Very comforting, just as much as mm… You saying there’s more we’ve brought back. And please tell me they’re not an Indominus, indo-rex-raptor whatever monstrosities… I think we’ve had enough of those.”
“Are you… Expecting me to pet one? Perhaps feed it some snacks from my hand? I’m sure we’ll grow a- a fantastic bond just like the canines we’ve domesticated over thousands of years.”
I guess? He’s been yapping to me about raptor behavior, more specifically their intellect and understanding to what level they’re trainable.
And no, Deinonychus is NOT a hybrid! Those were…not suppose to be made. Those were animals whose dna was twisted and mutilated in a lab to suit the purpose of profit. Your degree is based on why that’s a bad idea. Need I explain more?
And I never said that. Though I’m sure interacting with anything that isn’t a paper and pencil or a small furry animal would do you a world of good.
[ Ian sucked in a breath through his teeth. He shook his head and pondered for a second on whether he should actually be this pedantic. ]
"Ahhh, they're- they're all hybrids. Not exactly the same animals who had their shot at life, Owen... My PhD is what gives me full confidence that... That none of them should be here. And for the record, I was among the first to transition to using computers..."
"But-but, sure. You can take me to see this Deinonychus and uhh, show me what it looks like. Perhaps I can bring Alan along. It would be good to see him again."
None of them should be here. That’s right. But they are—and we should have been happy enough with the ones we had then to just go and start creating new ones.
And really? I figured that would take a lot more convincing. Or is it just an excuse to see Alan?
You’d probably like raptors a lot more than you’d think. They’re pretty smart.
Parabola is, anyway.
“Well, no use just sitting around being unaware of the dangerous creatures pried out of extinction for the sake of greed. Better the dinosaur you know than ah, the dinosaur you don't, I guess. Hey, I could visit Alan at any time, it’s just that he’d… Like to see this. I think. The more people around who know how raptors work, the better.”
“Parabola? I’m surprised you know that word.”
I know plenty of words! Believe it or not I took basic statistics.
If you’re bringing Alan along, he might much rather meet her than the Deinonychus. Parabola is the dinosaur he helped discover, I think.
So.... You must be the so-called "raptor trainer" I've heard so much about these past few years. This should be interesting.
I've had a hypothesis about their communication skills for a couple of decades now, especially after an, um.... Experience, of my own, back then. But I still don't believe they can be "trained" in the same way as a dog or a horse. Way more intelligent. I'm sure you can agree.
We have much to talk about, Mr. Grady.
- @fossil-frontiersman
Dr. Grant, you’re that Utahraptor guy—aren’t you? It’ll be nice to talk to someone who specializes in raptors for once.
I have to agree, at least somewhat. It’s a fair assessment to say raptors aren’t like any other domesticated animal. Their superior intelligence allows them to learn way beyond them. For their benefit, usually.
Like any other animal I’ve found they’re food motivated. But they also seem to extend their motivations beyond just that. Or maybe I just lucked out with my pack.
I suppose anything can be food motivated. Its a basic instinct. That, I am not surprised at all to learn about.
I am mostly wondering about their vocal capabilities, their language. How many different calls did they make? Did they make combination calls?
How about....
Mimicry?
I'm also curious of their behavior as juveniles, you interacted with them since the moment they hatched, for proper imprinting, correct? As they grew older, how did you manage to keep their respect in the hierarchy and remain at the top? I believe they were still on the younger side of adulthood so I can't help but wonder if they would've eventually overpowered you once fully grown. From what I've seen of most free-roaming raptors, they are constantly looking for a reason to gain power over each other, always squabbling. From the footage I've seen, yours definitely didn't snap at each other nearly as often, very fascinating...
I understand how everything was, well, um, cut short... My sincere condolences.
It all really depends on which species of raptors I’ve worked with that you’re talking about, but the ones I’m seemingly most well known for are the velociraptors, so I’ll start with them.
They were pretty vocal at all the stages of life that I knew them, honestly. Most often their vocalizations were in the pursuit of obtaining food—especially when younger, similar to how baby birds might chirp to signal they were hungry. It wasn’t always for food though. Blue and Charlie tended to vocalize a lot more in general. Many reasons…sometimes in a response to something happening around them or me just being there. There was once that Blue even signaled an injury to me when she was around nine or so months old. Relentless chirping and thudding her tail on metal.
Charlie at one point had learned how to mimic birds overhead pretty well, and she had been starting to make some sounds that were a lot like music that one of the facilities management people kept playing when working.
Delta and Echo were far less vocal, but I’ve always figured that was more a matter of personality than anything. For animals in a hierarchy they were pretty unique on an individual to individual basis.
As far as trying to overcome me, it’s hard to say. I’d like to think they liked me enough to not do that, but given that’s not how packs work, it’s more reasonable to think it was because they knew I was their shot at getting food.
Above me, Blue was always sort of the second hand if that makes any sense. Definitely above all of her sisters, yet she never really enforced that idea too much. There was always occasional fights here and there, but otherwise they were pretty bonded. Almost synchronized…like a pack of wolves or a pride of lions. Not what we see in any of their modern day raptor relatives.
And I appreciate it. Certainly was a time of my life…
Blue sounded like she was a truly remarkable animal. Most animals, even the most social and intelligent ones, tend to hide any sign of illness or injury. She must've truly trusted you to alert you like that. Incredible. Truly a once in a lifetime bond. It disgusts me how companies are using these creatures as military equipment, it's just not right. I am sorry that you, and those animals, were used like that. Unfortunately, Pandora's box has now been opened.
I feel there must be something we are missing in the way they are raised. As we know, the first InGen "velociraptors" were practically blank slates. No adults to learn from and their human caretakers handled just their basic needs. They turned out to be very vicious animals, surviving by the law of "kill or be killed", they didn't know how to raise their own young once they began breeding on their own and often ate the hatchlings.
On Site B, I witnessed something much different. These raptors managed to work things through, cooperate, and they were successfully raising young. Still snappy towards each other but much more coordinated. However, sometimes, at least some individuals were easily distracted by drama with other raptors. I wasn't there for very long, not nearly enough time to truly study their social behaviors. They did seem to have a pack structure similar to wolves, the breeding pair being the highest rank and the most experienced. But what I did witness was definitely noteworthy. Many different calls that all seemed to have different meanings. They seemed to have conversations with one another... One that particularly sticks out to me all these years later, the call for help...
And here, you have raptors raised in a stable setting, raised by humans, properly socialized with littermates and kept intellectually stimulated... It really makes you wonder what sort of "culture" these animals would've had, untarnished by extinction, human meddling and genetic modifications. However, I must be clear, these genetically modified "de-extinct" animals will never truly be the exact same thing as the original species they were based off of, now matter how close they get to looking like the "real" thing, there are just so many variables into what makes a species, a species, so many things in the development process, and environmental factors, that we can just never recreate. These "dinosaurs" have been so far removed from their true Mesozoic counterparts, that they should not be used as a valid comparison to speculate on extinct behavior, and should count as their own separate thing at this point.
The US military has long used both humans and other animals for as long as it’s existed, unfortunately. Their greed always will extend way further than you think…endlessly. Always at the sake of another. To do it to animals so innocent, acting purely on fear or the instinct of survival is…cruel.
I haven’t had the chance to read much up on the original raptors of Hammond’s shit show but to hear that isn’t surprising. Raptors, even the ones we have nowadays—like Seriema and Falcons, always rely heavily on their parents during their early years. Given they’re the closest living relatives, it would make sense not having a parent was…impactful. Could have been the reason they were so aggressive. Honestly, that could have been why all the species they had there were like that. Having a park with animals not used to humans was a stupid idea.
In comparison to my raptors, I don’t believe the Idominous had much handling or care by anyone at all…just the basic necessities were handled, and that was that. Otherwise it was completely kept from the world, brewing aggression. Fear. Then again it was kept a secret from everyone so it’s just a speculation of mine if anything. Don’t know much about her.
Given raptors are much smaller compared to many theropods yet so skilled in their hunting abilities, even on an individual level, I’ve always believed they would have preferred living in social groups given how successful their abilities are when paired with each other. I actually studied it a couple of times. Had Blue track her own food and then had her do it with her pack. It took her around five times as long compared to the 6 or so minutes it took her group.
I really wish I could have had some more time or paid more attention to their vocalizations, but from what I do remember there were for sure distinct ones. One to alert the presence of food, one as a vocalization to ‘correct’ the other when they overstepped, like how a dog might growl at another…even one that was specialized to get my attention. It started as Blue mimicking a word I had said, I believe, though it sounded hardly like what I had said. Echo would sometimes make a small grumbling noise whenever she inspected something, which usually got Charlie’s attention specifically. Of the sisters they were probably the closest pair…so i
It’s a shame we’ll never truly know what any of it was truly like…but I do still find plenty of meaning in studying these clones regardless. Interacting with them, getting to know them, form a bond…it’s a blessing, no matter how skewed the science behind any of it is due to their genetic makeup. Even if faux versions of what they once were, they’re real. And worthy of study. It’s been my lives highlight, truly.
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
“You two can have fun with that. I heard he’s been studying their calls again, something about a… Complex language. Very comforting, just as much as mm… You saying there’s more we’ve brought back. And please tell me they’re not an Indominus, indo-rex-raptor whatever monstrosities… I think we’ve had enough of those.”
“Are you… Expecting me to pet one? Perhaps feed it some snacks from my hand? I’m sure we’ll grow a- a fantastic bond just like the canines we’ve domesticated over thousands of years.”
I guess? He’s been yapping to me about raptor behavior, more specifically their intellect and understanding to what level they’re trainable.
And no, Deinonychus is NOT a hybrid! Those were…not suppose to be made. Those were animals whose dna was twisted and mutilated in a lab to suit the purpose of profit. Your degree is based on why that’s a bad idea. Need I explain more?
And I never said that. Though I’m sure interacting with anything that isn’t a paper and pencil or a small furry animal would do you a world of good.
[ Ian sucked in a breath through his teeth. He shook his head and pondered for a second on whether he should actually be this pedantic. ]
"Ahhh, they're- they're all hybrids. Not exactly the same animals who had their shot at life, Owen... My PhD is what gives me full confidence that... That none of them should be here. And for the record, I was among the first to transition to using computers..."
"But-but, sure. You can take me to see this Deinonychus and uhh, show me what it looks like. Perhaps I can bring Alan along. It would be good to see him again."
None of them should be here. That’s right. But they are—and we should have been happy enough with the ones we had then to just go and start creating new ones.
And really? I figured that would take a lot more convincing. Or is it just an excuse to see Alan?
You’d probably like raptors a lot more than you’d think. They’re pretty smart.
Parabola is, anyway.
So.... You must be the so-called "raptor trainer" I've heard so much about these past few years. This should be interesting.
I've had a hypothesis about their communication skills for a couple of decades now, especially after an, um.... Experience, of my own, back then. But I still don't believe they can be "trained" in the same way as a dog or a horse. Way more intelligent. I'm sure you can agree.
We have much to talk about, Mr. Grady.
- @fossil-frontiersman
Dr. Grant, you’re that Utahraptor guy—aren’t you? It’ll be nice to talk to someone who specializes in raptors for once.
I have to agree, at least somewhat. It’s a fair assessment to say raptors aren’t like any other domesticated animal. Their superior intelligence allows them to learn way beyond them. For their benefit, usually.
Like any other animal I’ve found they’re food motivated. But they also seem to extend their motivations beyond just that. Or maybe I just lucked out with my pack.
I suppose anything can be food motivated. Its a basic instinct. That, I am not surprised at all to learn about.
I am mostly wondering about their vocal capabilities, their language. How many different calls did they make? Did they make combination calls?
How about....
Mimicry?
I'm also curious of their behavior as juveniles, you interacted with them since the moment they hatched, for proper imprinting, correct? As they grew older, how did you manage to keep their respect in the hierarchy and remain at the top? I believe they were still on the younger side of adulthood so I can't help but wonder if they would've eventually overpowered you once fully grown. From what I've seen of most free-roaming raptors, they are constantly looking for a reason to gain power over each other, always squabbling. From the footage I've seen, yours definitely didn't snap at each other nearly as often, very fascinating...
I understand how everything was, well, um, cut short... My sincere condolences.
It all really depends on which species of raptors I’ve worked with that you’re talking about, but the ones I’m seemingly most well known for are the velociraptors, so I’ll start with them.
They were pretty vocal at all the stages of life that I knew them, honestly. Most often their vocalizations were in the pursuit of obtaining food—especially when younger, similar to how baby birds might chirp to signal they were hungry. It wasn’t always for food though. Blue and Charlie tended to vocalize a lot more in general. Many reasons…sometimes in a response to something happening around them or me just being there. There was once that Blue even signaled an injury to me when she was around nine or so months old. Relentless chirping and thudding her tail on metal.
Charlie at one point had learned how to mimic birds overhead pretty well, and she had been starting to make some sounds that were a lot like music that one of the facilities management people kept playing when working.
Delta and Echo were far less vocal, but I’ve always figured that was more a matter of personality than anything. For animals in a hierarchy they were pretty unique on an individual to individual basis.
As far as trying to overcome me, it’s hard to say. I’d like to think they liked me enough to not do that, but given that’s not how packs work, it’s more reasonable to think it was because they knew I was their shot at getting food.
Above me, Blue was always sort of the second hand if that makes any sense. Definitely above all of her sisters, yet she never really enforced that idea too much. There was always occasional fights here and there, but otherwise they were pretty bonded. Almost synchronized…like a pack of wolves or a pride of lions. Not what we see in any of their modern day raptor relatives.
And I appreciate it. Certainly was a time of my life…
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
“You two can have fun with that. I heard he’s been studying their calls again, something about a… Complex language. Very comforting, just as much as mm… You saying there’s more we’ve brought back. And please tell me they’re not an Indominus, indo-rex-raptor whatever monstrosities… I think we’ve had enough of those.”
“Are you… Expecting me to pet one? Perhaps feed it some snacks from my hand? I’m sure we’ll grow a- a fantastic bond just like the canines we’ve domesticated over thousands of years.”
I guess? He’s been yapping to me about raptor behavior, more specifically their intellect and understanding to what level they’re trainable.
And no, Deinonychus is NOT a hybrid! Those were…not suppose to be made. Those were animals whose dna was twisted and mutilated in a lab to suit the purpose of profit. Your degree is based on why that’s a bad idea. Need I explain more?
And I never said that. Though I’m sure interacting with anything that isn’t a paper and pencil or a small furry animal would do you a world of good.
So.... You must be the so-called "raptor trainer" I've heard so much about these past few years. This should be interesting.
I've had a hypothesis about their communication skills for a couple of decades now, especially after an, um.... Experience, of my own, back then. But I still don't believe they can be "trained" in the same way as a dog or a horse. Way more intelligent. I'm sure you can agree.
We have much to talk about, Mr. Grady.
- @fossil-frontiersman
Dr. Grant, you’re that Utahraptor guy—aren’t you? It’ll be nice to talk to someone who specializes in raptors for once.
I have to agree, at least somewhat. It’s a fair assessment to say raptors aren’t like any other domesticated animal. Their superior intelligence allows them to learn way beyond them. For their benefit, usually.
Like any other animal I’ve found they’re food motivated. But they also seem to extend their motivations beyond just that. Or maybe I just lucked out with my pack.
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
"Hey, I could have just thrown a random bird of prey at you and called it a day. I know more than you might think about paleontology. I happen to hang out with some, if you recall."
"Oh no no, that... That won't be necessary. Let's be honest here um... Bringing back one kind of raptor was more than enough, I'd rather not be reminded about the presence of two, thank you..."
Yeah. That Alan Grant guy? I actually have to talk to him about something. Funny you mention him.
And come on, they’re about as big as a Great Dane—and other modern sized dogs. Probably smaller.
You know we have other raptors too that got brought back; right?
Hey old man. Favorite type of raptor? And no, you can’t say none or give me some completely unrelated species.
- @raptortastic
──── 🦋 ────
“Old man?…”
“Owen… Contrary to what you might think, I quite like microraptors… Though, the-, the extinct ones. Their history and impact on the palaeontology world is… Very fascinating.”
Seriously? A microraptor? I guess I shouldn’t dog on you. You actually saying an actual raptor species name is an achievement in itself. But you couldn’t go anything above the smallest raptor there is?
I’ll have to find a Deinonychus for you to hang out with.
I find myself missing when the raptors were little no matter how awful of an experience the park had been to live through. They were great. Blue was always a handful, though. She always led the other three. So smart she learned how to open my bag and trashed my first camera I had to record them with. Such a ringleader…
