A little reason to celebrate
National Velociraptor Awareness Day
Fun · April 18
Meet the real Velociraptor, a small feathered dinosaur quite different from the large, scaly hunters made famous by the movies.
National Velociraptor Awareness Day falls on Sunday, April 18, 2027. That is 173 days away.
Velociraptor was a small meat-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Mongolia and northern China. It was roughly the size of a turkey, with a long stiff tail, a narrow snout and a curved claw on the second toe of each foot.
It also had feathers. Fossil arm bones show quill knobs, the bumps where large feathers once anchored, much like those on modern bird wings. Velociraptor belongs to the dromaeosaurs, a group of dinosaurs closely related to birds. It could not fly, but picture something closer to a sharp-eyed, bad-tempered bird than a scaly lizard.
The velociraptors most people know come from the movies, and those animals are larger and far less feathered than the fossils. In size they are a better match for Deinonychus, a related dromaeosaur from North America. The film versions are memorable on their own terms. They are simply a different animal wearing a borrowed name.
One famous fossil shows a Velociraptor locked in a struggle with a Protoceratops, a plant-eating dinosaur. The two were preserved together mid-fight, probably buried by a collapsing sand dune. It ranks among the more vivid glimpses anyone has of a dinosaur's actual behavior.
The easiest way to mark the day is to compare the two versions side by side. Find a museum reconstruction or a recent scientific illustration, then think of the movie raptor. The real one is smaller, fluffier and, oddly, still a little unsettling. That sickle claw was real.
Ways to celebrate
- Look up a current scientific illustration of a feathered Velociraptor.
- Visit a natural history museum's dinosaur hall, or browse its online collection.
- Compare Velociraptor and Deinonychus sizes using a simple sketch.
- Watch birds outside and note which features they share with dromaeosaurs.
- Read about the fighting dinosaurs fossil of Velociraptor and Protoceratops.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Saturday, April 18 |
| 2027 | Sunday, April 18 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, April 18 |
| 2029 | Wednesday, April 18 |
| 2030 | Thursday, April 18 |
Also on April 18
- National Animal Crackers Day
- National Piñata Day
- Pet Owners Independence Day
- National Lineman Appreciation Day
- National Newspaper Columnists Day
Categories: Fun days