Vandals damage dinosaur footprint in Australian national park

A dinosaur footprint that has survived for roughly 115 million years was recently damaged by vandals, reports The Telegraph.

Located in Australia’s Bunurong Marine Park, the fossilized print was discovered in 2006, and, rather than remove it, officials decided to leave it in its original environment so it could be enjoyed by the public.

“The significance of the footprint is that it represents a moment frozen in time when a meat-eating dinosaur stood on that spot and left an impression of its foot,” Parks Victoria notes.

The damage appears to have been caused by a hammer and resulted in the breaking away of the footprint’s edges.

A silicon rubber mold was taken at the time of the print’s discovery, and it is hoped that restoration work can be done.

Parks Victoria is seeking information about the incident.