The cause of the seizure of Tyrannosaurus rex fossils

On May 14, 1992, the staff of the Black Mountain Research Institute in Hill City, western United States, were doing their jobs as usual. Suddenly, a sound of sirens coming from far and near broke the tranquility here. Then, more than 30 FBI officers and more than 20 National Guard personnel broke in. In compliance with the order of Federal Justice Scott Sguffer, they seized one of the world's largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossil specimens preserved here on suspicion of illegal excavation of natural heritage. The staff of the institute were all stunned as they watched nearly 10 tons of fossil skeletons and surrounding rocks, as well as related field records and photos being packed into boxes by these 50 people. It took these police officers and guards more than two days to complete this arduous task, and then transported the "incriminating evidence" to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and stored it in a vault there. This was the first time in the world that paleontological fossils were seized as criminal evidence; moreover, what was seized was the extremely precious complete fossil skeleton known as the "King of Tyrannosaurus Rex", so this incident caused a stir in the press at the time. and great concern from the public at large.

King of Tyrannosaurus Rex

The cause of the matter goes back two years. In 1990, traces of dinosaur fossils were discovered on the West Oaks Indian Tribal Reservation on the Cheech River in South Dakota. In order to excavate these fossils, the Black Mountain Institute paid $5,000 to the owner of the land, Mr. William, an Indian rancher, and obtained permission to excavate there and own all finds.

However, one thing that the Black Mountain Institute did not know was that Mr. William had given this land to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs several years ago for financial interests. Under U.S. law, Indians were exempt from taxes if they placed their property in trust for the federal government. But at the same time, this means that if he wants to sell the burial under this land, he must obtain permission from relevant federal agencies.

Mr. William did not tell the Black Mountain Research Institute about all this, nor did he go through the relevant procedures. The Black Mountain Research Institute started excavation work in a daze. Their work was fruitful, and they unearthed the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the world so far, and named it "Su".

Research shows that "Su" lived in the late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago. When he was alive, he was 12.49 meters long and 5.48 meters tall. Such precious specimens not only have extremely high exhibition value, but also have important scientific research value. Therefore, Mr. Larson, the president of the Black Mountain Research Institute, has made ambitious plans. On the one hand, he is preparing to cooperate with several paleontologists to study this skeleton; on the other hand, he is preparing to build a museum in Hill City to exhibit this skeleton. "King of Tyrannosaurus Rex".

But at this moment, Mr. William suddenly filed a lawsuit in court, claiming that the Black Mountain Research Institute had no right to own "Su".

Among a series of research projects, the research on the sexual differences between Tyrannosaurus rex is the most fascinating. Not long before "Sue" was discovered, the Black Mountain Research Institute had just unearthed a giant Tyrannosaurus rex from near the village of Buffalo, South Dakota, named "Stan." Mr. Larson claims he has discovered the differences between male and female Tyrannosaurus rex in Stan and Sue. While "Sue" was being seized, Mr. Larsen was still carefully studying the similarities and differences between it and "Stan", preparing to write a scientific paper on determining the gender of dinosaurs. The seizure of "Su" and the subsequent protracted legal disputes forced the interruption of these significant scientific researches.

After four years of legal proceedings, the court finally ruled that the King of Tyrannosaurus Rex "Sue" belongs to the Indian farmer William, but he must ensure that this precious natural heritage can never be sold. Mr. William said that relevant scientists are welcome to come to his place to study this world-famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimen. We look forward to the scientific research on "Su" being completed as soon as possible to solve a series of difficult problems such as sexual differences in dinosaurs.

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