Posted on 12/20/2017 9:33:35 AM PST by Simon Green
(Parks Victoria released a photo on December 20, which shows a dinosaur footprint after it was damaged by vandals at Flat Rocks near Melbourne)
Vandals used a hammer to smash a 115-million-year-old three-toed dinosaur footprint in a national park in Australia. Park rangers at the Bunurong Marine Park discovered the damage to the theropod footprint while taking a school group on a tour.
The one-foot wide print was found in 2006 and deliberately left in place to allow visitors to see it in its natural state in one of the worlds few ice-age dinosaur sites.
"It is so disappointing, Parks Victoria ranger Brian Martin told ABC News.
It's a popular, significant site. The rock there is reasonably hard so it looks like it's been hit with a hammer and pieces of the rock around the edge of the footprint have been broken away.
The identity of the culprits and the possible motive remain unknown, but it appears the vandals were familiar with the footprint.
For someone to damage it intentionally, you'd have to have a rough idea of where it is because seaweed grows on the rock platform and it looks like a normal rock until you look closely and see the outline of the footprint," Mr Martin said.
(The footprint before it was smashed)
Broken fragments of the print were found on the surrounding rock platform in which it is embedded.
Palaeontologists made a silicon rubber mould of the print after it was discovered. It is hoped that technicians will be able to restore the print.
The national park, east of Melbourne, was once roamed by at least six different types of carnivorous dinosaurs.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Basturds.................
Muzzies, as the print is an affront to all-ha?
“Basturds.................”
I’m betting on Muslims.
Low-IQ, pig-faced Moslems?
.
BS flows!
Probably a 2000 year old print at most.
Could easily be 100 year old.
That’s a distinction without a difference...................
I'm gonna bet they go after Grant Money to look for another one.
Ye old Grant Scam.
Maybe someone was trying to steal it..................
What a shame that others cannot value something of natural historical significance.
I tend to doubt that footprint is 100 years old.
Could easily be 100 year old.
Australia had dinosaurs roaming around in 1917?
Trying to steal it.
Sounds like those Morons who toppled a balancing Rock in Utah a few years ago.
Muslims was my first thought also.
And how did you come to the conclusion?
.
They apparently still do if you know where to look.
But they’re smaller now, like everything else that lives on Earth.
.
.
2000 years ago the Dinos (Dragons in the parlance of the day) were still fairly large and fearsome to those that encountered them.
.
I thought the ice age ended about 12,000 years ago
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.