"Raptor Red" was an attempt to introduce "Utahraptor" to the public, as well as explain some of Bakker's theories regarding dinosaur behavior. Bakker originally suggested the genus name "Utahraptor" for a new dinosaur specimen that had been found by an amateur bone-hunter in Utah. Bakker was at the time consulting with the designers of the "Jurassic Park" film, whose largest portrayed "Velociraptor"—called the "big female" in the script—was coincidentally the same size as the newly discovered specimen. One of the novel's other goals was to dispel the common perception of predators as evil and portray them as creatures to be admired and empathized with. Bakker's raptors are shown as monogamous, relatively intelligent and social creatures, an assertion he defended. "The life of dinosaurian hunters was hard. Most skeletons we excavate have clear marks of old wounds," he said. "To survive and raise their young, the predators needed more than sharp teeth and strong claws. They needed social bonds." The behavior of the raptors and other animals featured in the novel was based on a combination of fossil evidence and observations of modern animals, such as chimpanzees and alligators. Bakker also advanced his theory that an asteroid impact did not kill the dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, but rather diseases spread through migration.