It appears that after news spread of a 4-year-old discovering a dinosaur footprint on a beach in Wales, some people visited the area in an attempt to remove some of the rocks where the footprint was located.
BBC reports that Natural Resources Wales received a number of reports over the weekend of people taking sledgehammers and crowbars to the rocks on the beach. However, the footprint is safe and in the possession of the National Museum Wales.
Nadia De Longhi, south central operations manager for Natural Resources Wales, called the footprint “a spectacular find” and has been preserved as “a scientific and educational resource for future generations to enjoy.”
“Unfortunately, we've since been made aware of reports of anti-social behavior at the site, with people attempting to remove rocks with sledgehammers and crowbars leading to several areas of the site being damaged,” she said.
The 4-year-old made the discovery last month when she was with her family. The 10-centimeter (3.9-inch) footprint was preserved in mud on a beach in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. It’s thought to be 220 million years old and to potentially be from a 75-centimeter (29.5-inch) tall dinosaur. However, it’s impossible to determine the exact type of dinosaur that left the print.
“It was on a low rock, shoulder height for Lily, and she just spotted it and said, ‘Look Daddy,'’” her mother Sally Wilder, 41, told NBC News. She continued, “[Lily] is really excited but doesn't quite grasp how amazing it is.”
The Welsh beach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to geological features that need special care to be preserved.
