Anyone in the market to take ownership of the World’s Largest Dinosaur? The 86-foot-tall, 145,000-pound Tyrannosaurus rex named Tyra resides in the small town of Drumheller in the Canadian Badlands about 84 miles northeast of Calgary. If it helps sweeten the deal, surveyors recently certified her as, “safe, stable, and ready to welcome visitors,” even after over 25 years of hosting as many as 12 guests at a time inside its mouth/viewing platform.
Taking custody of the popular tourist attraction near the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology is serious business, but the town is on a tight schedule. Last year, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce (DDCC) announced it would end its lease on the property in 2029, leaving the fiberglass and steel dinosaur’s future uncertain. However, officials made it clear that they weren’t leaving Tyra in a lurch.
“Completing a structural assessment was identified as the first step to better understand the attraction’s condition and expected longevity, so partners could begin to explore long-term options for the dinosaur,” the Chamber of Commerce explained in an update on March 20th.
In addition to a comprehensive review of the property’s integrity, Drumheller also recently invested a final $310,000 in exterior repainting and restoration to safeguard the T. rex through her last era under town oversight.
“Tyra is safe, stable and ready to welcome visitors!” DDCC executive director Heather Bitz tells Popular Science.
Millions of visitors have witnessed Tyra’s grandeur in person since her ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 13th, 2000. Still, most people know she’s not a particularly accurate example of the species. T. rex was certainly sizable, but never reached anywhere near the proportions of Drumheller’s attraction. For reference, one of the largest known fossilized specimens, Sue, measured around 42 feet long, stood 13 feet high, and possibly weighed about 15 tons.
For now, Tyra’s fate remains to be seen. Although the Calgary Herald reported last year that she would be dismantled after closing, the DDCC says it’s committed to exploring “long-term options for the dinosaur.” If nothing else, they may not have much choice except to leave Tyra intact. When asked if plans remained on the table to remove the World’s Largest Dinosaur sometime after 2029, the DDCC executive director clarified the town’s opinion on the matter.
“We don’t believe this is a feasible option,” Bitz says.
