Supporters petition to save Drumheller,AB dinosaur Tyra from extinction

HELLFIRE

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/drumheller-dinosaur-tyra-backlash-1.7503291

… The biggest is Tyra, standing across from the intersection of Gorgosaurus Street and Tyrannosaurus Drive near a visitor information centre. A nearby ice cream stand offers fossils, T-shirts and dino toys. The 25-metre-high figure, four times the size of a real T. Rex, attracts 150,000 visitors a year, serving as the backdrop to hundreds of thousands of tourist photos over the last quarter of a century. Tourists can climb 106 stairs through her innards to stand inside her mouth and look down. But she’s set to become history at the end of 2029. Built in 2000, the giant dinosaur fit into the industry of the town, with its vast fossil finds and museum, which hosts over 130,000 fossils. While the town owns the land where she’s located, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce owns the attraction. And the chamber said the dinosaur is set to be dismantled when the lease runs out. … “We are the dinosaur capital of the world and the world’s largest dinosaur has been very iconic in our community. We’re going to look for some solutions,” [Mayor Heather Colberg] said. …

Regards

Hydraglass

HELLFIRE Drumheller losing its giant T Rex would be like Colborne ON losing its big apple. Its really one of the only things it is known to the greater public for (honestly it’s the only reason that I, half a country away, know of Drumheller - I’ve also heard of the suspension bridge across the river though)- and I’m sure it is a large tourist draw that brings folks out the 90 minute drive specifically to see when they are in the Calgary or Red Deer area, since it’s pretty far off the beaten path otherwise.

taraf

funny you should use that word… I thought for a second it was related to this story: https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/dire-wolves-are-back-from-extinction-thanks-to-genetically-engineered-pups

Thane_Bitter

HELLFIRE

Small town buffoonery.

The issue is that for 25 years its not been maintained well enough such that its damaging its steel structural armature. Given the amount of resin and glass used on it (also making it impossible to recycle) they might as well come up with a plan to repair it now and keep it maintained over a realistic time frame rather than the short span picked.

As I read this the chamber of commerce people don’t want to pay anything nor will they just hand over the sculpture either. A fine example of begging choosers.