What Is the Feathered Raptor in Jurassic World: Dominion?

The recent release of Jurassic World Dominion has allowed us to see a lot more dinosaurs in this epic conclusion to the Jurassic story. In that regard, we saw a lot more variants of different dinosaurs that are already classics in their own right. One such dinosaur that was introduced in the movie was a feathered version of a Velociraptor. So, what is the feathered Raptor that was introduced in Jurassic World: Dominion?

The feathered Raptor that can be seen in Jurassic World: Dominion is called the Pyroraptor. These Raptors are almost just the same size as a regular Velociraptor but are covered in red feathers. They have the same curved claws that Velociraptors have and are capable of swimming.

Adding a new dinosaur in the form of the Pyroraptor makes the movie more interesting, especially because it no longer relies on the usual Velociraptor that we’ve seen ever since the very first Jurassic Park movie. That said, the Pyroraptor added a different element of fear in the movie because it was somewhat different from the Velociraptor. And now, let’s get to know more about this dinosaur.

What Is The Feathered Raptor In Jurassic World: Dominion?

The Jurassic movies just keep on adding more and more dinosaurs into the mix, especially when it comes to Jurassic World, which simply has a lot of different species of dinosaurs. Of course, Jurassic World just can’t get enough of the Raptor, which has always been the flagship dinosaur of the movie franchise. And we’ve seen a lot of different Raptor variations since the first Jurassic World movie.

Jurassic World introduced the Indominus Rex, which may stand out as a T-Rex hybrid but actually has Raptor genes in it. On the other hand, the second installment of the Jurassic World movie series introduced the Indoraptor, which is basically just the Raptor version of the Indominus Rex.

However, Jurassic World: Dominion introduced another type of Raptor that, thank the heavens, isn’t some sort of a lab concoction that was created by mad scientists for the purpose of profit. Instead, this Raptor looks like the real version of what a Raptor should look like because it has feathers. So, what is this feathered Raptor in Jurassic World: Dominion?

The name of the feathered Raptor in Jurassic World: Dominion is Pyroraptor, which is basically a different species of the Raptor type of dinosaur. This dinosaur existed some time during the late Cretaceous period and is native to the northern areas of Spain and the Southern parts of France.

There is only one Pyroraptor seen in the movie, as this suggests the possibility that there was only one Pyroraptor that was bred by the company called Biosyn. That’s because Raptors are known to hunt in packs, as seen from the fact that all of the different Raptors we have seen in the Jurassic Park and World movies hunt in groups.

The Pyroraptor appeared during the middle portion of the movie. Owen Grady and Claire Dearing decided to go to the Biosyn sanctuary for dinosaurs when their adopted daughter, Maisie, was kidnapped. They got there with the help of a pilot named Kayla. However, Owen and Kayla got separated from Claire when the plane had to crash-land on a layer of thin ice.

As Owen and Kayla got out of the plane and were on their way to look for Claire, they encountered a Pyroraptor that attacked them and even showed its ability to swim in icy water. However, Owen and Kayla were able to escape the dinosaur with their lives as that was the first and last time that the Pyroraptor appeared in the movie.

Why Does The Pyroraptor Have Feathers?

Physically speaking, the Pyroraptor is basically almost as big as a Velociraptor and has some of the defining traits that all Raptors have. It has sharp claws on its feet and is just as nimble as any Raptor species. The only difference is that this Raptor has feathers. So, why does the Pyroraptor have feathers?

Actually, giving the Pyroraptor feathers was the right thing to do on the part of Jurassic World: Dominion because Raptors, or probably all dinosaur species, should have feathers. It has always been suggested that dinosaurs are feathered creatures, considering that they are related to the modern-day birds that we have.

However, in the first Jurassic Park movie, they did away with the feathers on their dinosaurs because of the fact that featherless dinosaurs are scarier and much more intimidating. They were able to actually explain this in the movies when they said that the dinosaurs don’t have feathers because the genetic scientists that created them used frog DNA to fill in the genetic gaps. As such, the dinosaurs of the Jurassic movie franchise are all featherless. But this was not the case in Jurassic World: Dominion.

The Pyroraptor was not the only feathered dinosaur introduced in the movie, as there were other dinosaurs that had feathers in the movie. This was explained by the fact that the scientists of Biosyn did not alter the genetic sequences of their dinosaurs. As such, these dinosaurs were able to exist in their own original forms, feathers and all.

As such, the Pyroraptor was allowed to have feathers because most, if not all, dinosaurs should have feathers. This also fixes one of the biggest issues that dinosaur experts have when it comes to the Jurassic movie, as allowing the Pyroraptor to have feathers makes the dinosaur more accurate when compared to its supposed original form.

Still, that doesn’t fix the issue when it comes to the size of the Pyroraptor. The real Velociraptor is supposed to be much smaller and should be knee-high when it comes to its height. Then again, Jurassic Park made the dinosaur more menacing by making it much larger. Of course, the Pyroraptor followed suit as it is almost just as big as the Velociraptor.

Are Pyroraptors Stronger Than Velociraptors?

At this point, we cannot say for certain that the Pyroraptor is stronger than the Velociraptor because we haven’t seen them in a fight. Nevertheless, the Velociraptor is slightly bigger than the Pyroraptor, and that means that it probably has the strength advantage to go along with its size advantage.

Then again, the Pyroraptor was shown to be an adept swimmer as it swam in icy water like an aquatic creature. That means that it should have the advantage over any other Raptor species when it comes to its mobility underwater.

Still, the Velociraptor is a smart and resilient dinosaur that has been able to survive catastrophic events. It was suggested in the second Jurassic World movie that the Velociraptor is perhaps second only to humans in intelligence. As such, it may be able to outsmart the Pyroraptor in almost any kind of situation, and that could mean that Velociraptors are still stronger than their feathered counterparts.