Deinonychus was a
bipedal carnivorous dinosaur that lived about 100 million years ago
during the early part of the Cretaceous period. It has been
suggested that they hunted in packs, which would have required a
significant amount of intelligence. Pack behaviour is associated
with small family groups, which indicates they looked after their
eggs and raised their young for a short period after hatching, much
the same as modern birds do. This type of dinosaur is an ancient
relative of birds and may even have had feathers.
Large eyes, long talons, high speed
and manoeuvrability would have made this creature extremely deadly;
and in addition it had two large claws, one on each foot, which it
could retract whilst running. It is thought that these claws were
used to puncture blood vessels in its prey so that they bled to
death.
Above - There's a
killer on the loose. Deinonychus emerges from the undergrowth
looking like it needs some TLC; not the sort of occupation for the
faint hearted!
Left - It is
uncertain what colour the dinosaurs were. By comparing them with
modern animals we can speculate that predators like Deinonychus were
camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings.
