Durham's brontosaurus damaged by vandalism

Durham, N.C. — Brontosaurus, which was part of the Museum of Life and Science’s old Dinosaur Trail, was vandalized early Monday, officials said. A small portion of the neck was found on the ground, and the head was missing.

The trail, which opened in 1967, has a lot of history with the residents of Durham, especially those who live in Northgate Park and Colonial Village, official said.

“Over the past three years, the Northgate Park and Colonial Village neighborhoods have been working with the museum to remove some of the undergrowth and debris that had accumulated over the past several decades since the Dinosaur Trail was closed," Mike Shiflett, Northgate Park adopt-a-park coordinator, said in a statement.

"While a lot of the other pieces suffered damage during Hurricane Fran and a few ice storms in recent times, the Brontosaurus seemed immune. From a neighborhood perspective, we are just as outraged as our friends at the museum that someone so callous could act so selfishly in destroying a piece of history."

The museum plans to reopen the new Dinosaur Trail sometime this summer.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the museum at 919-220-5429.