Of Raptors and Kratts

Raptor Powers

The sun was high in the cloudless African sky as the Wild Kratts team were playing their annual Giraffe Soccer Tournament. On both sides of the playing field, two humanoid giraffes, one blue and the other green, stood guard over their perspective goal posts, ready to send the incoming soccer ball airborne with their long necks and strong hooves. Along the sidelines, browsing under the shade of the acacia trees, other giraffes watched the festivities with great interest, among them being Necktie and Necklace.
The crew was divided into two teams: Koki, and Jimmy on Team Blue while Aviva represented the Green Team with Chris. Competition was fierce as the two teams played on under the blazing sun. However, unlike the previous Soccer Tournaments, there was now a sixth player.
JZ was just about to score a goal on the Green Team's net when a flash of orange whizzed right in his line of sight, intercepting the oncoming ball and snatching it in midair. The streak then made its way rapidly towards the opposite side. Koki tried to intercept the speed demon, but to no avail as it easily outran the computer whizz, leaving her in the dust.
From his place at the goalpost, Martin prepared for the oncoming onslaught, hooves at the ready, blue eyes focused on his adversary. Then the strike came.
With lightning fast speed, a long, slender tail sent the soccer ball flying straight for the net. The blue giraffe leaped forward to catch the ball, but it was too late: another goal had been made.
"D'oh! Not again!"exclaimed Martin in defeat, clumsily landing on his stomach. On the other end of the playing field, Chris and Aviva whooped and exchanged high fives in celebration of their victory. Jimmy and Koki, disappointed though they were, came to congratulate the Green Team. Presently, a set of clawed, scaly feet stood before the fallen giraffe as their owner looked down upon him, tilting her head.
"Yes, Amber. You win."said a crestfallen Martin. At six months old, the young Velociraptor stood nearly four feet tall and measured eight feet from nose to tail. Despite her size, she was not yet fully grown; no more than a child in human terms. And like a human child, Amber was always ready and willing to give affection, as she was currently doing so, licking the blue giraffe's face, causing him to sob with laughter.
"Good game, girl."he said, rising on his feet before deactivating his CPS, returning him to his proper form as the little dinosaur looked on in amazement; watching her foster pack mates transform into the very creatures they encountered never got old.
Exhausted and parched from their intense game under the searing African sun, the Wild Kratts team made their way into the shade of the Tortuga HQ where a water drum was placed on a table.
"Boy, it sure is hot today,"panted Jimmy as he gulped down a cup of ice cold water.
"Yeah. The savannah's sure giving us a beating."replied Martin, wiping the sweat off his forehead. The Kratt in blue promptly drenched his sweaty scalp with his cup to cool himself down.
"I'm bushed."panted Koki, gasping for breath after having finished her cup.
"But it was worth it,"said Aviva in a singsong voice. She was then joined in by Chris who wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Hoho yeah. Sweet, sweet victory, huh Aviva?" The younger Kratt planted a kiss on the inventor's sweat-soaked cheek, which caused her to giggle.
"Mm-hmm."she hummed. "Although it's Amber whom we should really be thanking."
"Speaking of which, where is the little scaly?"
As if to answer Koki's question, Amber dashed right past the recuperating teams, kicking the ball with her clawed feet all the while racing around in wild twists, turns and circles at high speed, oftentimes leaping into the air. And to everyone's utter astonishment, the agile Velociraptor didn't appear to be in the least affected by the sun's scorching heat.
"Looks like Amber's still in the game!"remarked the Kratt in blue with a laugh. Deciding that playing in teams was more enjoyable, the young raptor pranced toward the Tortuga to join the others in hopes of encouraging them to play some more. She walked slowly forward as she balanced the ball on the tip of her pointed snout before using her head to bounce it up and down. This continued until she allowed the ball to roll down along her back, to the end of her tail where it spun around at its tip, like a professional basketball player spinning it on his fingertip. At this point, the Wild Kratts team were already gathered around her.
  The spiraling soccer ball eventually plopped to the grass as the young theropod allowed herself to be affectionately rubbed and petted by the team, eyes closed in pleasure as rumbling purrs vibrated in the back of her throat.
"You're awesome!"complimented Martin.
"How do you do it?"asked Chris.
"What's your secret, girl?"inquired Jimmy.
"Which one?"asked Aviva. "Her speed? Her agility?"
"How on earth she's not frying out here?"added Koki, fanning herself.
"I guess we can investigate all three, starting with how she's able to perform high speed maneuvers in such intense heat."declared the Kratt in green. No sooner had he laid a hand on Amber's head than he noticed a spike in the dinosaur's breathing, now much heavier than before. "You okay, Amber?"
The Velociraptor bobbed her head up and down, as if she was nodding.
"So now she's tired?"
Martin softly pressed a hand against Amber's scaly flank. He promptly moved it away upon feeling how hot it felt. "She's overheating."
"Hmm. No sweat."observed the Tortuga pilot.
"Only mammals have sweat glands JZ, and only primates have them in abundance."replied the older Kratt. "Other animals like pigs, rhinos and hippos need to cool off in mud wallows or in the water while others prefer to rest in the shade during the hottest part of the day."
Chris then took over for his brother. "Likewise, many creatures, such as dogs and birds, pant to keep cool. Panting expels hot air and brings in cooler air, which then helps moisture in the mouth evaporate quickly to reduce body temperature."
"It probably makes sense that raptors would be able to expel excess heat in the same way, given that Dr. Grant said that they're more closely related to birds than they are to reptiles."concluded Martin.
"But how can we be so sure with dinosaurs?"wondered Jimmy. "They've been extinct for 65 million years and what's left of them are nothing but old bones."
"You're right about that, Jimmy."answered the Tortuga technician, pulling out her Creaturepod. "No one truly knows. It says here that scientists have debated for centuries on whether dinosaurs were cold blooded like modern reptiles or warm blooded like birds and mammals. Mostly just speculation and guesstimates based upon current fossil evidence and looking into the behavior of present day animals."
Aviva, however, thought otherwise as she too reached for her cellular device. "Not until today! Deploying Body Scan." With the touch of a button, the inventor scanned the young raptor in order to look deeper than the surface. Amber stood motionless, unbothered by the scanner as she was already used to this procedure. "Receiving image!"
The rest of the team gathered around Aviva, awaiting the results. She then pulled out a holographic infrared image of her findings. "Body temperature is about 96.8 °Fahrenheit. Higher than the surrounding environment which is 85° and just a bit hotter than her usual 94°."
"A reptile's body temperature, on the other hand, is exactly the same as the environment."informed Koki.
"Hmm. Body temperature's back to normal."said Chris as he felt the dinosaur's skin. Amber's panting had long since ceased as she was now breathing steadily. "And we saw Amber's astounding acrobatic performance for ourselves. There's no doubt about it now,"
"That Velociraptors are warm blooded through and through!"cheered Martin excitedly.
The team's attention was once again drawn by Aviva who shouted, "Wait! There's more!" The inventor revealed yet another holographic screen, this time of Amber's skeletal system for everyone to see. "¡Increíble! It's not just panting that keeps her cool; there's also two large cavities in her skull called the antorbital fenestrae. They're the largest openings in the skull, right there before the eye sockets, and they lighten the weight of the skull while still providing a large surface area and structure. Not only that, but it also seems that they're also ideal in allowing excess heat to escape through Amber's skull."
To say that the others were amazed would be an understatement. "Wow!"
"Now that's an awesome creature power!"stated the Kratt in blue.
"Whereas most animals would cool off in the shade, or wallow around in the mud, raptors would have been highly active, even under the hot sun, thanks to their built in cooling system."Chris hypothesized.
"That raises another question: how fast could they have gone?"questioned the Tortuga technician.
The two creature adventurers raised fingers in answer only to freeze in uncertainty. Neither had a sure answer. For what seemed like an eternity, they circled around for a while as they pondered.
"Wait!" Chris snapped his fingers as a sudden notion came to him. "Muldoon said that Velociraptors were extremely fast for bipedal animals, right?"
"'Cheetah speed. Fifty, sixty miles per hour if they ever got into the open. And they're astonishing jumpers.'"confirmed Martin, doing his best impression of the deceased game warden.
The pair then exchanged knowing glances. "So, bro. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"asked Chris.
"Oh! I'm definitely thinking what you're thinking! I think."answered the older Kratt.
"Great! Then there's no question we're thinking the same thing!"
"Care to share what you guys are thinking?"asked Aviva as Koki and Jimmy Z cast curious looks.
"Let's go see Blur!"hollered the pair simultaneously.
POP!
Everyone jolted in fright at the sound of an imploding soccer ball, courtesy of Amber's razor sharp teeth as she held the deflated ball in her jaws, casting a guilty expression on her face.
**** Later that Afternoon....****
A few hours later found the Wild Kratts team out on the golden grasses of the African savannah. Except for a few scattered Acacia trees and towering termite mounds, the plains were dominated by tall grasses and uneven terrain. Koki and Jimmy were seated in the Createrra, looking over the horizon with their binoculars when they saw a great cloud of dust ascend from over the hill.
"Ahhhhh!!!!!"
The pair jolted upright upon hearing that scream. "Here they come."said Koki.
Appearing just over the rise raced a green Thomson's gazelle, prancing and galloping at top speed, being chased by two radically different predators; a sleek, spotted cheetah and a swift reptilian carnivore from a very different era. For all his speed and agility, his pursuers were able to match every zig and sharp turn. Nearby, Aviva and Martin were riding parallel to the wild chase on either side, the former in her Hover Bike while the latter was mounted on the Cheetah Racer, the inventor wielding a speedometer whereas the creature adventurer had his blue Creaturepod.
"Go Chris, go!"cheered Koki.
"You can make it!"urged Jimmy Z, munching on a bag of popcorn, watching the suspense unfolding.
"You got this, Blur! Cheetah speed!"hollered the Kratt in blue, rooting for the cheetah.
"Go Amber, go!"cheered the inventor.
"What?! You're cheering for Amber?"asked Chriselle, feigning heartbreak. "Aren't you gonna root for your boyfriend?"
Aviva shrugged, smiling innocently. "Well, somebody has to cheer for Team Predator."
"I thought what we had was special–  Aghhh!!!"his sentence was cut short as he felt something heavy collide into him from behind, causing him to tumble along the grass before coming to a stop barely a few yards from the Createrra. Above him sat Amber and Blur, the latter pinning him down with her paw as the former chewed on his horns.
"Team Predator wins!" Koki announced, approaching them.
"That's nice."murmured Chris who raised a hoof, his voice muffled as he was face down on the savannah grass. "Now can somebody get these two offa me?"
"Allow me."answered Martin, walking up to his downed gazelle brother. Approaching Blur, the older Kratt uttered several whistles that sounded similar to a cheetah chirp. The cheetah in question took that as her cue to relinquish her green throw rug and stalk towards him, eager to have her ears scratched. Amber, however, was still seated comfortably on Chris and continued to gnaw upon the green grazer's hard horns. At least that was until the young raptor caught whiff of something more delectable. With one tremendous leap, she bounded into the Createrra, catching everyone by surprise.
  As Aviva helped a deactivated Chris back on his feet and Martin fussed over Blur who purred loudly as she was being petted, Koki wasted no time in collecting and analyzing data from the experiment. "So Martin. What did you get for Blur's maximum velocity?"
"About seventy miles per hour."answered the Kratt in blue, pulling up the results from his Creaturepod. Aviva then raced up to the pair, speedometer in hand, followed by Chris.
"Amber was a close second."said the inventor with a beaming smile. "Fifty three miles per hour!"
"The same speed as the North American pronghorn!"added the Kratt in green.
The data was enough for the Tortuga technician's jaw to drop. "Wow!"
"Then that would make Amber the second fastest land carnivore on Earth!"stated Martin. He then patted the cheetah's spotted head. "Looks like you got some competition, Blur."
Suddenly a loud kerfuffle was heard aboard the all-terrain vehicle as–
"Hey, that's my beef jerky!"yelled JZ, who was currently engaged in a tug of war with the juvenile raptor over several hardened links of beef jerky.
   As the technical duo laughed at this comical scene, the two creature adventurers shared incredulous glances, eyebrows raised. "Is it lunch already?"asked the older of the two. Chris shrugged.
**** A Few Minutes Later...****
"Okay, sweetie. Let me look at you again. What design features give you your speed?" Creaturepod in hand, Aviva ran several body scans of a motionless Amber, wanting to look deeper than the skin in order to unravel the keys as to what components gave the young Velociraptor her  lightning fast speed. The raptor in question sat still on a large boulder, allowing the violet purple beam to run from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. Blur splayed out at full length on a neighboring rock, licking her paws.
"And the results are in," she announced once the scans were complete and the data collected. In a flash, Chris, Jimmy, and Koki were gathered around to hear the verdict as Martin focused his attention to the theropod, rewarding her with treats.
"Good girl!"the creature adventurer praised, tossing a piece of meat from a leather bag he carried straight into Amber's waiting jaws.
"Like the cheetah, Amber also has enlarged heart and lungs for maximum oxygen intake. Her body design long and streamlined. But check this out; her skeleton is made up of hollow bones, and there also appears to be several air sacs attached to her spine."
"Air sacs?"asked JZ, a puzzled look on his face.
"Air sacs." Koki explained, pulling up a suitable image of bird anatomy from her master control tablet. "They're mostly found in birds and they help to ensure that oxygen-rich air flows continuously through the lungs when breathing in and out. For birds, flying is a high-energy process and requires a lot of oxygen. And many species fly in high altitudes where the concentration of oxygen is rather low, so they need up to nine air sacs to permit a unidirectional flow of air through the lungs, meaning air moving through birds' lungs is largely 'fresh' air and has a higher oxygen content."
"We mammals, on the other hand, have a bidirectional flow, with air moving back and forth in and out of the lungs. As a result, air coming into our lungs is mixed with old air, and this mixed air has less oxygen."added Aviva, displaying a digital image of a human respiratory system.
"And since birds are directly descended from dinosaurs..."pondered the technician, hand to her chin in thought.
"Then the theropods–"said Chris before Martin interjected: "That's the group that includes all the carnivorous dinosaurs,"
"Right. They probably would've deployed a very similar internal ventilation system."
"Let's see that internal ventilation system in action."said Aviva as she mounted on her Hover Bike, holding up an dried gazelle skull. "Chris, will you do the honors?"
Chris heaved a sigh as he walked over to his smirking girlfriend, absentmindedly touching the horned cranium before being enveloped in a brilliant green flash.
"Activate Gazelle Power..."
Once the transformation was complete, Chriselle pranced twenty yards ahead of the team, wagging his tail in invitation.
"Now get on out there and do your gazelle prongy prancy prancy prong!"encouraged the computer whizz from her place next to the inventor.
Once the green grazer was in position, the Kratt in blue made his way to Amber and Blur. "So girls. Ready to have some fun?" On cue, the two carnivores, modern and ancient, left their perches and crept into the tall grass, eyes locked on to a certain green gazelle, seemingly unaware of their presence as he grazed. "They have you in their sights, Chris!"
"Ready, Cariño?"asked Aviva via Creaturepod.
"Ready as I'll ever be..." mumbled Chris not so enthusiastically, with a mouthful of shrubs, ears rotating like radar dishes, his thin, gracile legs shaking with anticipation of the inevitable chase.
Once they were within striking distance, the two hunters took their positions, crouching down out of their prey's sight.
"On your mark."Jimmy began, raising a flag over his head.
"Get set."chimed Koki.
"No wait!" Suddenly, Martin cut in, donning his Creature Power Suit as he raced to the theropod dinosaur and the spotted cat. "Hold on, Blur!" After inserting the right disk in his vest, the creature adventurer gently touched the cheetah's flank. "Activate Cheetah Power!" In a flash of blue, another cheetah had joined the hunt, casting the green antelope a devilish smirk. Needless to say, Chris' eyes widened in dread.
In that moment the flag was lowered.
"Go!"
Time seemed to slow down as Amber, Blur and Cheetah Martin all sprang out of cover, the three hunters quickly making a beeline towards the green grazer who immediately worked his hooves overtime to gain some distance from his pursuers. And the chase was on.
In that moment, the inventor sped off on her Hover Bike to follow the fast-paced action from the sidelines. She was promptly joined by the Tortuga technician who raced aboard the Cheetah Racer, it's artificial limbs perfectly matching the sinuous grace of the sprinting cheetah, stride for stride.
"Try to keep them in a straight line for us!" Aviva instructed the Kratt Bros via Creaturepod.
"You got it, Aviva!" the blue cheetah replied with a thumbs up and a wink before pressing on the chase, playfully taunting his younger brother once he was just a hair's length behind him. "You heard the lady! Run, Antelope Boy, run!"he goaded with a sly smirk, lightly poking his rump with a sharpened index claw.
"AGHHHHH!!!!!!" Needless to say, this caused Chris' eyes to widen as he hollered wildly in pain, running as he had never ran in his entire life.
"We got us a runner!"the Kratt in blue growled, addressing his fellow hunters. Excited by Chris' sudden burst of speed, Amber screeched wildly as she gave chase, running faster than Martin had ever seen her run before, her reptilian pupils narrowed into slits as she honed in on her quarry. "Whoah.."
Koki galloped almost top speed on the Cheetah Racer until she rode parallel to the chase. Once within range, the computer whizz aimed her radar gun at the racing raptor at her left in order to obtain an exact estimate of her speed. "Overall velocity is.... Wow! Fifty five miles per hour and going!"
From the opposite side, the Hover Bike zoomed in to Amber's left flank where Aviva scanned the dinosaur in full motion, until she captured a complete digital image on her Creaturepod which dissected the anatomy of the chase even further than the naked eye could see, looking deeper than the surface.
"¡Increible! Her respiratory system is just like a bird's! And unlike other vertebrates, birds don't have diaphragms; instead air is moved in and out of the respiratory system through pressure changes in the air sacs. Muscles in the chest cause the sternum to be pushed outward. This creates a negative pressure in the air sacs, causing air to enter the respiratory system. Expiration is not passive, but it requires certain muscles to contract to increase the pressure on the air sacs and push the air out. The lungs don't expand or contract like the lungs of mammals like Blur. In mammalian lungs, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs in microscopic sacs in the lungs, called 'alveoli', whereas in the avian lung, the gas exchange occurs in the walls of microscopic tubules, called 'air capillaries.'
"When fresh air is first inhaled through Amber's nostrils, it travels through the trachea–"
"Trachea?"asked the Tortuga pilot via holographic screen, following all the action from the Createrra VX.
"That's the large tube extending from the throat, Jimmy, and that splits into left and right primary bronchi a.k.a. mesobronchi, with each bronchus leading to a lung. Anyway, the inhaled air travels down each primary bronchus and then divides: some air enters the lungs where gas exchange occurs, while the remaining air fills the posterior, or rear air sacs. Then, during the first exhalation, the fresh air in the posterior sacs enters the lungs and undergoes gas exchange. The spent air in the lungs is displaced by this incoming air and flows out the body through the trachea. During the second inhalation, fresh air again enters both the posterior sacs and the lungs. Spent air in the lungs is again displaced by incoming air, but it can't exit through the trachea because fresh air is flowing inward. Instead, the spent air from the lungs enters anterior, or forward air sacs. Then, during the second exhalation, the spent air in the anterior sacs and in the lungs flows out through the trachea, and fresh air in the posterior sacs enters the lungs for gas exchange."
JZ was confused to say the least. "My head hurts."
"That's incredible!"exclaimed the Tortuga technician. But the results didn't stop there.
"Her long, back legs are packed with muscle. And look at that tail!" As the hunters and hunted approached a labyrinth of towering termite mounds, it took all of Chriselle's skill and fleet footedness to avoid colliding with the sun hardened structures. Not far behind, the two cheetahs and the Velociraptor were able to imitate their prey's every move.
"Every time she turns, the tail not only makes a great counterbalance, but it also acts like a rudder, enabling her to rapidly change direction."
As if to confirm the truth behind the young scientist's observations, the agile theropod rapidly swung her elongated tail from side to side to effortlessly dodge any oncoming obstacles in her path.
"Blur's beginning to tire! We cheetahs can only run at top speed for forty five seconds." The blue cheetah himself was starting to pant and gasp for breath as his pace was beginning to slow.
"But Amber's still going!" observed Jimmy Z from his binoculars.
"One thing's clear; one of the raptors' favorite hunting tactic was to run down their prey using their incredible speed and stamina, until it collapsed from exhaustion, and then they could move in to finish them off. Can I stop now?" A bloodcurdling shriek from close behind answered the green grazer's question before he continued running once again. "I guess not!"
  Faster than anybody could anticipate, the big cat made a sharp turn to the right, seemingly abandoning the chase altogether.
"And it looks like Blur's changed her course!"
"What a relief!"said the Kratt in green thankfully, now that one less carnivore was hot on his tail. But the humanoid gazelle's optimism was short-lived as a set of razor sharp teeth nipped at his tail, reminding him that he was not out of the woods yet. "Y'ouch!"
"Where is she going?"asked Jimmy Z.
Martin's cheetah eyes squinted as he tried to make out Blur's destination. "There! An impala at four o'clock!" the Kratt in blue pointed to a large impala buck grazing under the shade of a lone acacia tree, unaware of the imminent danger rapidly approaching. Using the last of her energy, the spotted cat raced in to seal her unsuspecting prey's impending doom.
"There goes the fastest land animal on the planet!"proclaimed Martin, watching the cheetah in action.
"At seventy miles per hour!"added Chris as he joined his brother only to be tackled to the ground by a very persistent Velociraptor. "Okay, okay Amber. I give! I give! You got me!" But with his face pressed firmly into the dirt, the young raptor hardly paid any heed to the Kratt in green's protest as she gnawed upon his bony horns. Fortunately for Chris, Amber, like any child, had a rather short attention span and it didn't take long for her ever wandering eyes to look upon the action unfolding before them.
Back under the acacia tree, the slender antelope jolted upward the moment his sensitive ears picked up an alarming disturbance among the tall grasses that betrayed an oncoming cheetah! But by the time the impala's instincts goaded him to run, it was already too late.
In a spotted flurry of teeth and claws, Blur closed in on the impala, delivering a lethal bite to her prey's throat. In the struggle for his life, the buck tried to kick and buckle up and down to shake off his attacker, but his struggles were weaker and weaker as the feline's teeth continued to suffocate him in their killer grip. It was all over in a matter of minutes as stillness claimed the once fleet footed impala.
"Whoah!"
"It's all over."said the green gazelle, still muffled by his added burden of the monkey– or rather raptor on his back.
"The impala never saw it coming!"interjected Martin, wide eyed by this wildlife spectacle.
From her place on top of the fallen Chriselle, Amber tilted her head curiously as she watched the interaction between predator and prey, thinking that the two were simply engaged in a wrestling match in the grass. Wanting in on the action, the young raptor took off with a playful chirp, racing toward Blur and her quarry.
"What is she doing?"wondered a shocked Aviva.
Sensing a possible intrusion to her feast, the spotted feline crouched defensively as she hissed at the scaly intruder in warning. Mistaking Blur's hostility for play, Amber hissed even louder, frightening the cheetah off of her kill. The little dinosaur warbled in confusion at her friend's reaction as she backed away a short distance. Was it something she said?
Soon curiosity got the better of her as she stooped down to investigate the motionless antelope at her feet.
As the green gazelle slowly rose upon his feet, he looked upon the kill sight where his eyes flew wide open upon seeing the young Velociraptor approaching the carcass. "Oh no,"
"Sweetie, no!"cried Aviva, hands clenching her helmet.
"Amber! Don't touch that!"yelled Chris.
"You don't know where it's been!" Martin hollered.
Koki took a more stern approach. "Amber, you get away from that carcass this instant!"she scolded.
"Oh, I can't watch!"whimpered the redheaded pilot, momentarily covering his eyes to block out the savage display to come. However, it wasn't long before Koki dragged him along by the arm.
"C'mon! We gotta stop her!"shouted Chris.
After deactivating their CPS, the Kratt Brothers, joined by the rest of the mortified team, all raced down the hill to stop the carnivorous reptile in her tracks. But halfway through, the older Kratt made an observation as he called his friends to a standstill.
"Hold on, guys."
The others looked at him as though he had grown a second head. "What?!"
"What do you mean 'hold on'?"questioned the Tortuga technician incredulously. "Amber's about to take a bite out of a bacteria-ridden hunk of meat!"
"She's not eating the kill."stated Martin.
Chris raised an eyebrow. "She's not?"
"No, look. I think... I think she's trying to revive the impala."
Martin pointed to where the inquisitive youngster tentatively tapped the motionless impala with her snout, tilting her head as she gained no response. It didn't move. Amber tried chewing on the buck's impressive horns, slightly lifting his limp head off the ground. No response. Many questions ran through her mind as she let the grazer's head drop: Why won't the impala get up? Was he sleeping? She then gave the fallen antelope a quick nip before leaping back, half expecting the animal to reel back in pain from the raptor's serrated teeth. But it remained still, as though turned to stone.
Amber closed her eyes as she pressed an earhole against the impala's chest. She remembered the times whenever Martin would allow her to sleep on his chest in the days when she was only a hatchling, became familiar with his slow breaths and the sound of his steady heartbeat. This time, she heard nothing. It was as though the life force that had once made this fleet footed antelope prance and race through the grassy plains had left it. Somehow, she knew deep down that the impala would never run again.
As Amber peered down sadly upon the lifeless body of the impala, she felt two hands on her shoulders. The Velociraptor looked to see Chris and Martin at her side, both looking solemnly towards the deceased antelope. Behind them, Koki and Aviva bowed their heads in a moment of silence whereas Jimmy Z lowered his hat as he sobbed uncontrollably at the tragic scene.
A moment of silence. "That, my dear Amber, is the predator/prey relationship."said the younger Kratt solemnly.
"Yeah."added Martin, his voice barely above a whisper. "It's very easy to feel bad for the prey, but for the predators, their survival depends on hunting meat, or they starve." Amber's head perked upon hearing the familiar word associated with food.
Chris went on rather philosophically. "These predator/prey relationships are hard for us humans to understand sometimes. But we know there are two sides to it. There are really no bad guys. In fact, getting food is not easy for predators. It's not just a walk to the grocery store; the food tries hard to get away and protect itself."
The Kratt in blue heaved a sigh. "C'est la vie, mon ami. If there's anything we've learned on our adventures, is that life is short. Take the trip, buy the shoes, eat the cake."
  Martin's philosophical statement only seemed to earn blank expressions from his younger brother and the raptor.
"What?"
Perhaps sensing that the bipedal reptile had no intention nor any interest in taking her prize, Blur crept back to the dead impala before uttering a birdlike chirp towards the nearby thicket. An answering chirp sounded within the tall grass before the blades parted, revealing a little cheetah cub who raced to greet his mother.
"Spot Swat!"greeted the Kratt Bros simultaneously, happy to see another of their countless creature friends. The cub in question instantly ran up to the humans, rubbing himself against their legs affectionately like a happy kitten. Amber also warbled a greeting to the young cub who playfully tapped her nose. At more than six months old, Spot Swat had doubled in size and was beginning to look a lot more like a miniature version of his mother. After greetings were exchanged between the Wild Kratts team and their feline friend before Blur's beckoning chirps brought him back to the kill where he began to eat the fruits of his mother's labor.
In that moment, the young raptor understood; one must die so that the other can live.
"We always gotta remember one thing: it's just the way nature works."Martin reminded. "Predators and prey."
"No bad guys."said Chris as the three walked away to let the cheetah family dine in peace. Only Amber looked back upon the scene in newfound understanding.
"Speaking of predators, who wants to try new and improved prehistoric predator powers?"chirped Aviva as she held up two Creature Power Disks fresh out of the M.I.K.
Needless to say, the effects were instantaneous as the bros' mood quickly changed before they hollered excitedly, their eyes as wide as saucers as they waved frantically in order to get her attention. Aviva rolled her gray eyes in amusement, having anticipated such a response.
"Ooh! Me! Me!"
"I wanna try!"
"Did you have to ask?"Koki asked, unsurprised in the least. The technical duo shared a good natured laugh.
"Velociraptor Power Disks 2.0 coming at ya!" With a flick of her wrist, the inventor sent the disks flying straight to the waiting hands of the creature adventurers.
"Awesome!"they cheered in unison, grasping the disks in their gloved hands. The two creature adventurers shared knowing glances, the same thought on both their minds.
"Oh, Amber!"
Upon being summoned, the young raptor came to a halt before them, wagging her tail anxiously.
"Have we got a surprise for you!"said Martin before he and Chris exchanged winks as they inserted the disks into their Creature Power Suits.
"Insert Power Disk!"they chorused in perfect synchronization as they both gently placed their hands upon Amber's forehead. From the sidelines, Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy watched the whole scene unfold in great eagerness.
"Touch raptor!" Then came the moment of truth.
"Activate Raptor Power!" In that moment, Martin and Chris were briefly enveloped in brilliant flashes of blue and green light which briefly blinded Amber and the rest of the team. When the glow faded, the place where the Kratt Brothers once stood was now occupied by two grown Velociraptors, one blue and the other green. "Ta-da!"
For the longest time, Amber stared at the Raptor Brothers in wide eyed amazement, her mouth agape, as it was the first time she had ever seen other creatures that looked just like her. Once recovered from her stupor, the little dinosaur shrieked with obvious delight, wagging her tail a little before, without warning, she catapulted herself upon the other two theropods with enough force to knock them over. Martin and Chris laughed with delight as both their faces were being assaulted by slobbery wet kisses from an uncontrollably happy Velociraptor. Aviva, Koki, and Jimmy Z, who had been watching this scene unfold with ever growing grins, now burst out laughing upon the climax.
"Okay, okay girl! We get it, we get it!"changed chuckled the green raptor.
"Cut it out!"exclaimed Martin, unable to control his own laughter. "You know that tickles!"
The little dinosaur seemed to get the message and the licking ceased, but not without warbling a raptorial laugh. Allowing the pair back on their feet, she buried her face between their chests, her eyes closed as she purred in sheer happiness and bliss.
The two Raptor Brothers exchanged knowing glances. "Hey Chris. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"pondered the Kratt in blue.
"Oh ho, I'm definitely thinking what you're thinking!"the green theropod replied with a wink before the two simultaneously voiced out their shared thoughts: "Race ya!"
No further warning was given as the two dinosaurs sprinted across the African savannah at breakneck speed, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.
"Last one to the Tortuga is a rotten dinosaur egg!"hollered the blue raptor. With an indignant shriek, Amber took off after them, not about to let them have all the fun.
As the dust cleared, the tech crew collectively rolled their eyes in amusement. Figures. Aviva shrugged, already boarding her Hover Bike. "Might as well,"she said, smirking behind her helmet.
"Wise dudes say:"added the laidback pilot who was leaning back behind the wheel of the Createrra, wearing a pair of shades. Once the engine roared to life, he flipped on the radio switch. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."
(BG Music: Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf)
"Then what're we waiting for?"asked Koki rhetorically, the Cheetah Racer prowling its way between the hovering cycle and all-terrain vehicle.
"Let's ride!"
**** Boy, that avian respiratory process was a real head scratcher to write about. Truly mind boggling. Had to read multiple sources to make sure I got it right, but this chapter was a lot of fun to write. Also, I apologize for the long wait..
What other adventures await our team?