Cowboy State Daily has a story about “Big Al” the Allosaurus… He is headed home! “Al”, the star of the 2000 BBC documentary “Walking with Dinosaurs”, was found near Shell, WY in 1990. He lived about 152 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. A 2002 paper, “Record-Breaking Pain: The Largest Number and Variety of Forelimb Bone Maladies in a Theropod Dinosaur”, documented 19 distinct injuries and diseases preserved in “Big Al’s” fossils. The injuries included several fractured ribs, a torn up hand, and a massive bone infection in his right middle toe bone.

(BTW, we aren’t sure if “Big Al” is a he, maybe she was “Big Allison”).

After 152 million years, Big Al is back.

The Wild West Dino Den will officially open in the Historic Red Shell Schoolhouse in Shell on July 27. The centerpiece exhibit is an exact skeletal replica of “Big Al,” a local icon and one of the most famous dinosaurs ever found.

Big Al is a 95% complete Allosaurus specimen found near Shell in 1991. Now, 35 years after its discovery, the Wild West Dino Den has brought the famous dinosaur back to its old stomping grounds.

“Big Al’s a big deal for us,” said Erik Kvale, president of the Wild West Dino Den. “Bringing this particular dinosaur back is going to put us on a lot of people’s radars before too long.”