Working group created to find way to save popular Drumheller, Alta., dinosaur

Bill Graveland · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 18, 2025 11:17 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

An important archetypal measurement has been taken to prevention Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the fashionable tourer attraction that towers implicit the skyline successful Drumheller, Alta., and was facing extinction successful 2029.

The 25-metre-high figure, 4 times the size of a existent T. Rex, attracts 150,000 visitors a year, serving arsenic the backdrop to hundreds of thousands of tourer photos implicit the past 4th of a century.

But earlier this month, the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce announced plans to dismantle Tyra astatine the extremity of 2029.

The quality resulted successful a nationalist backlash with 23,500 names connected a petition calling for her to beryllium spared. The Town of Drumheller besides demanded meetings with the enclosure and Travel Drumheller.

The municipality announced Thursday that the 3 groups volition research options with the extremity to proceed welcoming visitors portion readying thoughtfully for the future.

"While this determination marks the extremity of an era, it besides opens the doorway to caller opportunities," said Heather Bitz, enforcement manager of the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce.

"We're excited to enactment intimately with our assemblage partners to research what comes adjacent portion continuing to observe Tyra's interaction implicit the adjacent 4.5 years."

The moving radical volition place strategical adjacent steps successful the months ahead, starting with a carnal valuation to assistance find the longevity of the alloy and fibreglass structure.

"We're looking guardant to moving successful lockstep with our partners to probe and see options for the WLD [world's largest dinosaur]," said Darryl Drohomerski, the town's main administrative officer.

"This is the commencement of a process grounded successful collaboration and shared purpose."

More details volition beryllium shared aft the information of Tyra is assessed.

AJ Frey, the Drumheller businessman who launched the petition, praised the 3 groups for stepping up.

"This is simply a immense triumph for everyone progressive — monolithic kudos to the 3 organizations for grabbing the reins and championing Tyra's future," Frey said successful a station connected Facebook.

Julia Fielding, the enforcement manager of Travel Drumheller, had hoped a solution could beryllium worked retired due to the fact that Tyra is profoundly tied to the town's tourism identity.

"We're committed to keeping her representation live portion ensuring that our assemblage continues to thrive arsenic a destination good beyond 2029."

The municipality of 8,400 northeast of Calgary bills itself arsenic the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the assemblage besides has statues of dinosaurs that look similar they crawled retired of the Flintstones cartoon greeting radical connected the streets.