Jurassic World: Project IBRIS Uncovered a Unique Side of Velociraptors
The trained Velociraptors in Jurassic World were a first for the series, debuting as the result of Project IBRIS.
The Velociraptor's vast intelligence has been a cornerstone of the Jurassic Park franchise since they learned how to open doors in the original film. As the franchise progressed, characters in the series learned even more about the creatures, such as their ability to communicate on a level that surpasses chimps and dolphins. By Jurassic World, InGen Security Division Commander Vic Hoskins became the point man in a project titled the Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study, aka IBRIS.
Four Raptors, named Blue, Charlie, Echo and Delta, were created for the study and the attraction that was to come from it. Along with the Raptors, InGen added animal behaviorist Owen Grady to the staff for the Raptors to imprint on and learn from. Though it's known that Raptors are brilliant creatures, it wasn't until these four that Grady and the other Jurassic World members unearthed the deeper layers to their thought processes.
When Project IBRIS began, there was reasonable apprehension toward the idea as dinosaur encounters prior to the project often led to violent ends. But in video footage from Blue's infancy, Grady tried eliciting an empathetic response from the Raptors while appearing injured. All of the Raptors except Blue gave in to their instinct to hunt. Instead of attacking, Blue took on a more maternal approach, nurturing Grady rather than harming him. From that moment, Blue became the key to the other Raptor's success.
Years progressed, with Grady acting even more comfortable in his role as alpha and Blue keeping her siblings in line as the beta. By the events of Jurassic World, Grady could line up the Raptors and even have them respond to commands like staying in place. But as his bonds with the Raptors grew, Hoskins saw the potential in military application. To him, the ability to command intelligent and strategically minded animals like Raptors could yield massive results when weaponized and used in military exercises. Grady, now treating the animals like family, adamantly shut down the idea as Hoskin's personal goals were never the project's purpose. But even without the Raptors being used in combat exercises, it didn't stop other geneticists like Dr. Wu from pursuing the idea with new hybrid creatures like the Indoraptor.
As Project IBRIS began to reveal Velociraptors' true mental range, it also showcased how these animals could bond with humans. More than any Raptor in the pack, the bond between Blue and Grady was the strongest. Because Raptors hunt in packs, there was a small society that existed between them. Much like how wolves accept humans into their pack, Grady quickly learned that Velociraptors could do the same. Even when the Indominus Rex turned the Raptors against Grady, Blue differentiated and returned herself and her siblings to Owen since she knew deep down who the real alpha was.
At its inception, Project IBRIS was created to be nothing more than a way to train Raptors to follow orders for a future attraction. While an attraction never came, the study's research changed what people know about Raptors forever. It uncovered just how layered Raptor intelligence really is and how people like Owen Grady are capable of forming powerful bonds that last for years. In the end, Project IBRIS finally erased the stigma that Velociraptors are nothing more than mindless killing machines.
Source: www.cbr.com/