I Raptor

I Raptor
By Kevin D. Cottrell


The time of day is dawn somewhere in northern Utah over 120 million years ago. This is the story of a small pack of four Utah-raptors separated from their family by a great earthquake and subsequent flooding of the lowlands during a hunt. Utah-raptors are distant, more evolved cousins of the Velocer raptors.

All Raptors are very efficient killers and perfect hunters. The Raptor has hind and fore claws like small sickles. They are also equipped with a larger hind claw that protrudes out of the shinbone almost six inches long, pointing downward, designed for ripping and tearing out the entrails of its prey.

As compared to other dinosaurs of its time the Raptor brain case was much larger, and unlike other species of the carnivore type Raptors hunted in packs much like wolves. The Utah-raptor was twice as large as its cousins, the Velocer raptors, and weighed in at almost a ton.


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One single yellow eye peers out of the conifer trees where it was hiding, watching over a herd of Astrodons waiting for just the right moment to strike. The Raptor looks left and right, he spots his two brothers on his right, and to his left was another member of the pack, not a brother but his kind. It has been almost three days since the great ground shake. We have been trying desperately to rejoin our tribe sticking to the right of the tear in the earth. I have hunted with this pack since we were all chicks under the watchful eye's of my Mother and Father. My tribe depends on us for meat, and we must make it back. We have not eaten since the day before yesterday, and that was just the abandoned carcass of a Iguanodon, it tasted terrible and smelled worse.

The lead Astrodon had three fat calves with her, not a very good target; a mother will fight to the death in order to protect its young. In the center were the older cows but to the right was a group of bachelors prancing around not paying attention to what was going on. The pack stalked downwind of the herd, but if we did not strike fast they would catch the scent of the other. A nod of the Raptor’s red shaded snout was all the signal that was needed.

The pack moved in very quickly as the two bulls played, and little did they know that they were targets. I would attack from the rear as my brothers hit from the sides, and the other would strike from his hiding place in front of the herd. We all struck at the same time, and with great fury. The two young Astros screamed as we struck. We went for the smaller one, slashing and ripping great crimson tears in his flesh. The smaller bull crashed to earth in a heap, as his brother ran a few hundred feet and halted.

If he should decide to make a charge at least one of us would be hurt and that is for sure. I kept an eye on him as the rest of the pack fed; he did not look too sure of himself as he watched his brother getting mauled. If he were older and more experienced; then, he would have posed a much greater problem. As the herd moved on we gorged ourselves until we could feed no longer. Here the pack would stay the night. As I lay in a small mound of moss, I felt very content with the way we handled the hunt with the Astros. My Father would be so proud of me.

The following morning we ate more of the Astro, and in the distance we could hear a great roaring. The pack must move soon. We were in the territory of the Acrocanthosaurs, the only known enemy of my kind. He now has our scent, and alone we may stand a chance, but if he is with others we could not possibly survive. As we moved along the valley floor and up the ridge line we could hear trees crushing behind. I saw fear in the packs eyes, something that I had never seen before. The other quickly came to a halt as we all did. We looked at each other, and I knew that we would stand and fight. We got into attack formation as we have so many times before. I took the lead as my two brothers positioned themselves at the flanks, and the other moved around for a rear strike.

We waited what seemed a lifetime then, with a great crashing of trees, the enormous beast came out into the open, and the massive head looked straight at me. My scent must have been too much for him to bear. He roared and ran forward moving in great strides. I moved forward and to the right ducking under his large jaws as he snapped at empty air. I went in low attacking the exposed inner belly. At the same time, my brothers hit high and low while the other leaped onto the back of the Acro ripping and tearing, we were in a fury covered in the blood of our enemy.

The Acro was able to turn his head around and clamp his mighty jaws around the neck of the other. My brothers and I attacked again but in the beast’s death throe he would not release. There was nothing more that we could do; our friend was dead. My brothers and I lay at the site of the battle with the Trex, eating the tough stringy meat. I don’t know for how long but I knew that we had better be moving soon. If this beast were not running rogue we would soon have company. I started moving with the rest of the pack traveling behind in a wedge formation. We moved along the ridge line for awhile at a slow trot, then for no reason at all, we broke into a sprint towards the setting sun.


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Back at the site of the Acro kill, birds and flies were fighting to get at the two carcasses that lay on the moss covered ground. At first there was a great stillness, and then the birds took flight with only the flies remaining to claim the kills. After a few minutes the stillness broke with a loud roar. Nearby trees cracked and shook, and soon an extremely large Acro broke into the blood covered clearing, much larger then the dead beast laying before him. For a short time, the great lizard canted its head to the side and just stared; it was his mate the Mother of his young. His eyes turned a deep red and he raised his head in the air and his roar shook the ridge line with murderous rage in his heart he broke through a copse of conifer trees stalking the scent of his mates attackers.


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The Raptor pack settled for the night with their back towards a large overhanging cliff. Here, there would be some protection from the wind coming out of the valley. I thought for a long while about all of the hunts we had been on together. Then I fell asleep. The pack awoke to a great crashing in the distance on the other side of the ridge, coming from the same direction that we had traveled the night before. The brothers stared at each other then looked at me. I motioned to the younger brother to get to the top of the rise and see what it was. Soon he returned with a look of horror in his eyes, it was another Acro, this one was a lot larger.

The brothers looked at me for guidance. I hesitated for an instance when the middle brother started moving towards the sound. The Acro way too big there may be others. He looked back and decided against a frontal attack. I nodded and the pack moved at top speed through the valley as the dreaded sound of the beast roared and smashed through the trees. We ran for more than an hour, and stooped just long enough to catch our breath and to think.

Soon I started moving on the trail of a familiar scent. The pack moved much slower now until we came to a halt about a hundred yards in front of a large cave. The cave belonged to a lone Therapsid, the ancestor of the mammal, The Therapsids, or mammal like reptiles were warm blooded and had hair on its body. The two brothers moved to the side of the cave while I lay on my back in front of the cave moaning as if injured. Soon the animal came to the front of its cave to see what the strange noise was. As soon as the Therapsid moved out of the entrance, the brothers attacked from the sides, and the younger brother held onto the neck and twisted, bringing the large animal to the ground. I soon moved to the pack, and the three of us covered our bodies with the blood of our prey.

This hunt was not for food rather it was to cover our scent, and the scent of the Acro we killed the night before. Once we had finished our gory task we moved into the cave and hid behind some large boulders, and then we waited. After what seemed an eternity the huge beast moved to the front of the cave, he was enraged that the scent was gone. The Acro started ripping up the body of the Therapsid, but did not eat. After a short period of time the beast moved back the way he came and the pack fell asleep.

The next morning we moved off towards the north and snow started to fall on the ground, we had seen this once before. We trailed behind an Iguanodon herd and easily killed an elderly bull. After a great feast of the tough sinewy flesh the three of us moved up and over the ridge. We were deep within our own thoughts, we moved steadily east towards the sun. As we climbed up and over a snow covered mountain pass and through a small stretch of wood line, the wind shifted and we all came to an abrupt stop.

The scent was overwhelming our olfactory senses. We broke into a run all that was registering in my mind, my kind, my kind. We ran for a long time and as the woods opened up into a great valley we saw them, over thirty Utah raptors sunning in the grass. The pack was finally home. As we moved with great excitement towards the valley the Acro broke cover up wind from our current position. It was too close inherited instinct took control as the pack into a defensive formation with me in the lead and the two brothers on either side of the huge beast.

I had enough time to look into my brothers yellow determined eyes, and I saw no fear. We were tired of running. The Acro moved straight for me, closing the one hundred yard distance in seconds. I ducked down and under as the creature attacked with a thunderous roar. The beast hit me full force as the two brothers struck from the sides. The younger brother was a whirling dervish moving from the side to the back of the neck of the beast, ripping and tearing at the thick flesh.

The middle brother and I attacked the midsection using the sickle claw to rip open the less protected hide of the lower half of Acro. He roared, completely overcome with rage. In the lower valley heads turned up towards the ridge to see what the racket was, as some of the younger Raptors started moving up the slope.

I looked down at the large gash that ran across my arm and chest. The two brothers had a grip on the inner throat area under the huge open jaws. I moved in for the final kill as five Raptors broke through the forest coming back from a hunt. The pack smelled blood and it was too much for the giant lizard, crashing down some trees as he fell. After we fed and licked our wounds we allowed the others to feed on our kill. Then we moved valley towards the tribe. I looked back at my brothers. I saw that they were filled with pride. I felt that I was their leader, and it felt good.

The End.