more: The new study found that the claws had a high "failure stress" threshold, "suggesting that Velociraptor would have been able to support its weight on a small contact area while climbing," the researchers write. And it could have perched, much like a modern bird in a tree, they figure.

That doesn't mean Velociraptor wasn't fearsome.

The claws of these extinct creatures could have served to capture prey, too.

"The geometry of dromaeosaur claws would have caused the claw to rotate as it was pushed deeper into prey," the scientists write. A rachet-like ligament would have helped get the claw in deep, they speculate, allowing the dinosaur to use its body weight "to lock the claws passively and allowing the jaws to dispatch the prey."

yikes. good thing it's extinct.