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DRUMHELLER — Tyra the Tyrannosaurus is set to be poked and prodded this fall to determine whether Drumheller’s towering, monstrously popular icon can be saved from extinction.
Mayor Heather Colberg says a technical check will determine how much work — and money — may be needed to keep the 25-metre figure in its current place dominating the skyline of the town northeast of Calgary.
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“We’ve agreed on the engineering study, so that’s going to take place probably this fall,” said Colberg, who also is leaving office this fall.
“Once that is done then, we’ll have a good idea what her longevity is and everything about her, and then hopefully, we can make a decision before I’m gone.”
“If, all of a sudden, they come and say she’s actually going to fall apart, then that’s a whole different discussion. But if they say she’s good for 30 years and she might need an outer coating, then that’s different, too.”
Tyra is four times the size of a real T. Rex and attracts 150,000 visitors a year, serving as the backdrop to hundreds of thousands of tourists’ photos over the last quarter of a century.
"If Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists." #drumheller pic.twitter.com/HoCZUiSfZj
— Andrew Shepherd (@Andrew5hepherd) May 21, 2016
She stands 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. Tourists can climb 106 stairs through Tyra’s innards to stand inside her mouth and look down.
While the town owns the land where she’s located, the Drumheller & District Chamber of Commerce owns the attraction. The chamber has said the dinosaur is set to be dismantled when the lease runs out in 2029.
That announcement has resulted in a public backlash, including 25,000 names on a petition calling for her to be spared. The Town of Drumheller also demanded meetings with the chamber and Travel Drumheller.
The town announced in April the three groups would explore options, and the engineering study flowed from that.
Colberg said she’s optimistic the landmark won’t go the way of the dinosaurs.
“I would be amazed if she’s not (saved),” Colberg said. “There’s got to be a solution. I’m not giving up.”
The town of 8,400 bills itself as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the community also has statues of dinosaurs that look like they crawled out of the Flintstones cartoon, greeting people on the streets.
Colberg said she was initially surprised — but then not surprised — at the amount of national attention that Tyra’s possible demise has garnered across Canada.
“People like the dinosaurs and love coming here for the dinosaurs,” she said. “When you promote that you’re the dinosaur capital of the world with the world’s largest dinosaur, that’s what people expect to see.”
— by Bill Graveland
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