#paleozoo

Some time ago we had the #PaleoZoo challenge on Discord, sponsored by Prehistoric Kingdom.

Goal was the creation of realistic zoo habitats that could hause extinct creatures. As examples I created a bunch of them over the course of a weekend.

Scientific Name: Velociraptor mongoliensis

Time Period: Late Cretaceous

Location: Djadochta Formation, Mongolia

Length: 1.5 - 2 meters (5 - 6.5 meters)

Weight: 12 - 18 kg (26 - 40 lb)

Diet: Other dinosaurs, small mammals and reptiles

Exhibit: Velociraptor Dunes, Gobi Desert

As everyone knows, Velociraptor is not what the famous movie Jurassic Park would have you believe. Rather than a ‘6 foot turkey’ it instead a turkey-sized dinosaur that was discovered in 1923 by Peter Kaisen of the American Museum of Natural History. With two known species and dozens of specimens since, the Velociraptor was a decently well known species before the de-extinction process.

Velociraptors are surprisingly not pack hunters, preferring to hunt alone rather than with a group. However, they are known to create small alliances with other non-mate individuals in the event of a shared interest, such as stalking down a group of young pterosaurs. Mainly solitary aside from mates and young, the Velociraptor is a feared predator by many, but prefers to sleep the day away in a cool cave.

The Gobi Desert Exhibit in New Horizons has two Velociraptors in it’s enclosure; a lesbian pairing in fact! Living in their recreated habitat along with any in-need young from other paleozoological locations, Ot and Tengri spend their time playing with their enrichment items and hunting the rats we release in the enclosure for them to feed on. Tengri is also an Animal Ambassador, as depicted in the picture above! Come see them soon at New Horizons!

Meet Barry the Baryonyx!

Barry is one of a few of the Baryonyx walkeri at the Pixel PaleoZoo. He stands at 2.8 metres tall and 10 metres long! Barry lives alone in his exhibit named ‘Spanish Riverside’.