Wild West Dino Den collection grows

Wild West Dino Den collection grows 

By Avery Howe

Another Allosaurus will return to town following a recent donation to Wild West Dino Den for the purchase of a Big Al 2 cast, made in memory of Allyn Dimock, of Concord, Mass. 

Dimock grew up coming out to Shell to visit his family, including cousin Erik Kvale, who is president of the WWDD nonprofit. 

“We wanted to find something that would be a nice tribute to Allyn and the dinosaurs he loved,” Dimock’s wife, Margaret Keller Dimock, said. Margaret explained that the family has historically had an interest in Shell’s Howe Dinosaur Quarry, and she herself has a background in philanthropy. When Allyn passed away in September, she thought a donation to WWDD in his name made a lot of sense. 

“I love what [WWDD] is doing for the area, that it’s reflecting local history and geology,” she said. As a bonus, the dinosaur and her husband share the name “Al.”

A press release from WWDD relayed that Big Al 2 is perhaps the most complete Allosaurus jimmadseni ever found, discovered near Howe Quarry in 1996 by a field crew led by Dr. Hans Jakob Siber, of Siber and Siber, Sauriermuseum near Zurich, Switzerland.

“It is an exceptionally well-preserved skeleton, missing only one claw and ten small bones. The original fossil is on display at the Natural History Museum at the University of Zurich. The skeleton reveals many healed traumatic injuries that include damage to its scapula/shoulder, ribs, and feet. Its skull displays prominent horns just above the eyes making it unique amongst many other allosaurs,” the release reads. 

Big Al 2 will join casts and reconstructions of other locally discovered fossils including Big Al, Baby Toni, and the world’s only known allosaurus nest currently on display at the Historic Red Shell School in a temporary exhibit, which can be viewed Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

WWDD hopes to eventually move to Greybull, with the Town of Greybull reportedly assessing the feasibility of housing its growing collection. The WWDD website reports the organization has completely funded a cast of the Sarah/Sophie Stegosaurus, 33% of a Diplodocid and 7.2% of their planned educational displays. 

Margaret hoped her family’s donation would encourage others to support WWDD. 

“Things are really starting to pop for them,” she said.