A group of fiberglass statues have been vandalized at the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra, Australia, for the second time within a year. An 8 m fiberglass Parasaurolophus sustained damage after being pushed over onto rocks and two other dinosaurs had limbs broken off and toes broken in the incident that happened in the evening of Friday 1 November 2013. In March this year a statue was stolen from the museum in what was described by Australian Capitol Territory Police as a 'birthday prank', and later recovered from the home of a young man. Since this time additional measures have been taken to protect the statues, which stand outside the museum, but they do not seem to have been sufficient to prevent this latest incident.
Damage to model dinosaurs outside the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra, Australia. Canberra Times.
The museum has a stock of spare parts for the statues, which are said to be a popular attraction at the site, and hopes to be able to get them repaired quickly. It is thought that the incidents are opportunistic, and probably alcohol fueled, rather than the result of any grudge against the museum. It has been estimated the damage will cost around Au$2500 (~US$2375) to repair.
Anybody with information on the incident can contact Crime Stoppers Australia anonymously here.
