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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 15 2015, 4:08pm
Post #1 of 16
(758 views)
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OK, who hasn't seen Jurassic World yet?
I've wrangled the little tiny raptors with the wings and talons as a wildlife rehab volunteer (let me tell you about the time I was "handcuffed" to a perch by a great horned owl)(and about riding in a van with a barfing vulture)(and extracting the barn owl from under the freezer, because, barn owls fly straight at your face to make you duck...)
...so I fully appreciate Chris Pratt's character Owen's ability to wrangle the much larger raptors in the film.
Clone that man.
The film's raptors are actually more like Deinonychus or even the larger Utahraptor; veliciraptor was a teeny little thing the size of a small sled dog (30ish pounds).
And feathers. They had feathers.
That was the highlight of the film for me: the interactions with the animals, and the depictions of our relationships with those animals. The film, without too many spoilers, makes a point of how we often prefer to control creatures, steal their power, and use them for our own ends. There are several lines of dialog by different characters pointing out that these wild animals have their own agendas, their own lives, their own souls.
The film again raises the questions of how far do we take science. How much do we interfere with Nature and what are the consequences. There is a real debate in the scientific community about resurrecting extinct species like the mammoth or thylacine. (I'm all for bringing back the incredibly unique thylacine... a bunch of sheepherders shot it out of existence about the time the Hobbit was published).
Oh... and just in case you just got the impression that this is a Serious Literary Work...
Nope. It's a riproaring ripping good yarn. An Adventure Epic. A Wild Ride. A Walk in the Woods 65 million years ago. Full of a sense of wonder, a sense of humor, and ...
Chris Pratt.
and a chick so awesome she can run from dinos in high heels.
and this meme from the web:
you're cool, but not Chris Pratt on a motorcycle with a pack of raptors cool...
Long Live Raptor Blue
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
JARVIS is my copilot, and it's bigger on the inside...
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 15 2015, 8:08pm
Post #2 of 16
(711 views)
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I was wrangling raptors long ago....
http://www.swordwhale.com/environmental-education.html
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Jun 15 2015, 8:18pm
Post #3 of 16
(710 views)
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there is a new Jurassic Park movie? Is T-Rex in it?
What's the matter, James? No glib remark? No pithy comeback?"
Twitter - @DonryFetor
FB - https://www.facebook.com/donryfetortheouthouse
Instagram - donryfetor
Blog - donryfetorsouthouse.wordpress.com
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arithmancer
Grey Havens
Jun 15 2015, 8:40pm
Post #4 of 16
(705 views)
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"Jurassic World" is the name of the film. It opened this weekend, making half a billion dollars worldwide.
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arithmancer
Grey Havens
Jun 15 2015, 8:50pm
Post #5 of 16
(708 views)
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I liked the concept, but found the execution confusing.
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In the various chases, etc. that ensued once the raptors were set to hunt the Indominus Rex - it seemed to me that at some point, the raptors decided to team up with IR rather than the humans. Only then abruptly changed their minds? I am wondering whether I missed something in there.
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Elarie
Grey Havens
Jun 15 2015, 10:41pm
Post #6 of 16
(687 views)
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The raptor teaming up...
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.The I. Rex was genetically part raptor and started to communicate with the raptors, instantly becoming the "alpha" raptor, but then at the end their previous conditioning and loyalty to their trainer and "alpha raptor" Chris Pratt kicked back in and they switched sides again. It was kind of sweet. 
__________________
Gold is the strife of kinsmen,
and fire of the flood-tide,
and the path of the serpent.
(Old Icelandic Fe rune poem)
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Elarie
Grey Havens
Jun 15 2015, 10:46pm
Post #7 of 16
(690 views)
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Yep, I was there on Friday and it was just a really fun movie. Totally enjoyed it. And that girl has my total respect - I can barely WALK in heels like that! She was doing Olympic sprints!
__________________
Gold is the strife of kinsmen,
and fire of the flood-tide,
and the path of the serpent.
(Old Icelandic Fe rune poem)
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Eruwestial37
Rohan
Jun 16 2015, 8:01am
Post #8 of 16
(665 views)
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I need to quit coughing so the others in the audience don't feed me to IR!
I know what you mean by wrangling Velociraptors. I have parrots and their behavior is eerily similar to the dinos. I've given more blood to them than to the Red Cross! Love them dearly, though. A real challenge. They are truly scary smart.
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 16 2015, 6:42pm
Post #9 of 16
(645 views)
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find random stuff to nitpick and that was one of them, her whole character was picknitted...
Personally I have to agree that she's pretty bada** if she can lure dinos with a flare and run in high heels.
Some said the characters were a bit stereotypical... but I think not really. It is not Great Literature, it is an Adventure, and has precisely enough character to keep us interested.
Loving Chris Pratt's character, who appears a tough guy, but says/does things that show us he cares for other living things.
Had to find my old raptor toys and go play with them...
http://www.swordwhale.com/miniature-worlds-model-horses-vintage-toys--action-figures.html
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 16 2015, 6:48pm
Post #10 of 16
(642 views)
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I was doing this public program with raptors, and there was a parrot rescue right nearby...
"So, why do you clip their wings? can't you just put jesses on their legs like we do with hawks and owls?????"
Which is where learned that they have fairly weak legs that would break if you did that... and ridiculously strong beaks that can bite through broomsticks. By comparison, if you go pick up an imjured hawk, you don't worry much about the beak, he's going to throw himself on his back and wave those big gnarly talons at you, and poke you with them if necessary. (throwing in the towel literally works, you throw a towel over them and wrap them up like a burrito).
Yeah broomsticks. My friend has a little green Amazon, and I have yet to pet it... nope, nopity nope nope nope.
I once saw a pic of deinonychus in a National Geographic.. which made me wonder what would have happened if they'd had a few more million years to evolve (dino people!).
Oh, wait, they did. They became parrots.
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 16 2015, 6:48pm
Post #11 of 16
(641 views)
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and there's a bigger one too....
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 16 2015, 7:09pm
Post #12 of 16
(639 views)
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Owen (Chris Pratt's nifty character) is wrangling wild animals. Note that at the beginning, we see him clicker training the raptor pack. Lots of people have done this with dogs, cats, mules, tigers, bears whatever. Even the stingrays at the local That Fish Place come to the edge of the tank and flutter half out of the water because they are expecting food.
Wild animals' main difference from domestic is paedomorphosis, juvenile characteristics, which is what makes domestic animals domestic: they never actually grow up. Wild animals are easy to handle as babies (note the reference, also seen in much fan art, to Owen handling the baby raptors). Then they grow up and get their own agenda. Very well laid out in the film, when Owen says to Claire: "These animals are thinking: "I gotta eat." "I gotta hunt." "I gotta...". You gotta be able to relate to at least one of those things."
Note when he is clicker training the adult raptors, he is OUTSIDE the cage. He only goes in when someone's life is in danger, and you can see how tenuous that connection between him and the raptors is as he orders the gate lowered and dives through like Indiana Jones with raptors grabbing for the fleeing prey items (to be fair, fleeing, squealing, or squeaking humans often trigger the same response in many dogs, especially primitive breeds like huskies or sighthounds).
Owen decides to take the raptor pack hunting because if he doesn't, some moron will do it and get everyone (including the animals Owen has worked so hard to develop a relationship with) killed. So Owen takes the chance that his training and relationship will pay off...that the raptors will be more interested in the Big Game, and the Hunt, than in Owen on a bike.
It is when the pack meets the IR that we and Owen see what the IR is made of... part raptor DNA, which allows it to do that thing that happened in How To Train Your Dragon 2... be the Alpha and command the little dragons, uh, raptors.
Like Hiccup, sort of, Owen manages to remind the raptors at one point of their early training.
None of these animals have been "outside" before. As someone with Siberian huskies, which you can never ever let run loose, I can tell you how excited they are to be "outside", on a trail, running. They ignore and forget everything you ever taught them. In an enclosure, fine, on a gangline, fine... sort of... loose... gone.
The raptors are like loose Siberians, only more so.
The moment near the end, where there is a silent communication between Owen and Blue is priceless. It shows us how limited our understanding is, the possible depths of intelligence (however you want to measure that) of unknown creatures, there is a Mystery there. It is the same thing people have touched diving with Great White Sharks, with Leopard Seals. Owen may have thought of himself as Alpha, but it is more complex than that. And he knows that. He says something about how people want to control animals... he is not controlling, he is communicating... it is a relationship of equals.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140311-paul-nicklen-leopard-seal-photographer-viral/
Someone did their research and understood something about how wildlife and human interactions work.
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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Adrianna
Lorien
Jun 17 2015, 1:51am
Post #13 of 16
(613 views)
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Go see it. It's a good movie. I enjoyed it very much. Who knew that they keep the original T-Rex from the first one. Awesome sauce!
I was wondering why the raptor did that!
I would agree trying do more genetically modified things only cause more harm than good in some cases.
"I did free him. I freed his wretched head from his miserable shoulders."
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Adrianna
Lorien
Jun 17 2015, 2:17am
Post #14 of 16
(608 views)
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What do think of the Indominus Rex?
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Was she impressive enough or should they have did something different?
Her claws were very scary to me. I mean she was able to pick a person up and tear them apart.
On that note she had raptor DNA. She also had a little t-rex dna. So why did rexy decde to fight her? Was it Rexy knew that she was a threat to her and had to fight for her own survival?
"I did free him. I freed his wretched head from his miserable shoulders."
(This post was edited by Adrianna on Jun 17 2015, 2:18am)
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arithmancer
Grey Havens
Jun 17 2015, 3:25am
Post #15 of 16
(599 views)
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In the films they are not depicted as living in groups (unlike the raptors, which are shown to live and hunt in packs). So perhaps, like modern day predator species such as tigers, Rexie was defending her territory from an intruder.
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
Jun 17 2015, 4:12pm
Post #16 of 16
(573 views)
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...as any.
There's a nice undercurrent here of trying to show, not monsters, but animals following their own wiring/instincts/behaviors/agendas.
even that line about "to the canary, a cat is a monster... we're used to being the cat"...
Kind of nice to put the human race in its place once in awhile...
wonder if the Elvish Way With All Good Beasts extends to raptors....
keep calm and open paddock 9
Na 'Aear, na 'Aear! Mýl 'lain nallol, I sûl ribiel a i falf 'loss reviol...
To the sea, to the sea, the white gulls are crying, the wind is blowing and the white foam is flying...
Member of Manure Movers Local 101, Raptor Wranglers & Rehab, and Night Fury Trainers Assoc. Owned by several cats.
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