Velociraptor, the "Speedy Thief," is an insanely popular dinosaur due to its star status in popular movies. However, the real Veloci- raptor is very different from the  man-sized, scaly monsters depicted by Hollywood. True Velociraptors were unimposingly small, only two meters long and one and a half  meters tall. They also had feathers, like a bird. Functionally, these feathers likely helped to attract  potential mates, cover nests while brooding, increase speed while  running uphill, and maintain balance while hunting.  Discovered in modern day Mongolia, the Velociraptor lived in arid  environments consisting of mainly  sand dunes. It lived during the late Cretaceous Period but disappeared  before the mass extinction that  killed the dinosaurs. During its  tenure on Earth, the Velociraptor scoured the deserts for vulnerable  prey, such as its famous adversary,  Protoceratops. It hunted and killed small prey with a method called  "raptor prey restraint," in which it attacked the prey, pinned it down,  and started to eat it alive. The "RPR" method helps to explain the  purpose of the iconic dromeosaur sickle-claws: holding on! Another possible use for these claws may have been climbing trees, which  would certainly mean some poor animals experienced death from  above.