CALGARY — Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the lovable landmark that towers over the Drumheller skyline in the heart of the Canadian Badlands, is facing an extinction-level event.
The 25-metre-high attraction -- billed as the World's Largest Dinosaur, and the backdrop to hundreds of thousands of tourist photos over a quarter of a century -- is set to become history by 2029.
But the fight over her fate may have just begun in this town that sits northeast of Calgary.
The Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce, which leases the land the iconic statue sits on, announced this week that Tyra and the accompanying visitor centre will be dismantled four years from now.
"While this announcement is a difficult one, it’s also an opportunity for the chamber to refocus on our core mission: supporting local businesses, advocating on their behalf and fostering economic growth in Drumheller,” said Lana Phillips, president of the chamber.
The chamber says it will ensure that Tyra’s legacy continues through community initiatives, storytelling and potential commemorative projects.
"Tyra’s story isn’t ending — it’s evolving,” said Heather Bitz, executive director of the chamber. “We’ll be looking for ways to honour the memories, stories, and community impact that Tyra has created over the years."
Tyra was unveiled as a tourism attraction in 2000.
She weighs 65 tonnes and is more than four times bigger than a real Tyrannosaurus Rex. She is interactive, inviting tourists to climb the 106 stairs that comprise her innards to stand inside her mouth. (Her jaws can hold 12 people at most).
It's estimated she hosts 150,000 visitors a year.
She seemed like the perfect addition to the industry of the town of 8,400, which has a rich heritage of dinosaur fossils and is home to the Royal Tyrrell Museum and which hosts over 130,000 fossils.
The chamber announcement has gone over like the asteroid that reportedly ended the dinosaur era so many millennia ago.
On Thursday, the Drumheller council held an emergency meeting to discuss what it called an “unexpected announcement and voted to meet with the chamber and Travel Drumheller to discuss Tyra’s future.
Mayor Heather Colberg said Tyra is one of the community's "most beloved landmarks.”
"We know there's people out there who are upset with the town and it's our fault, but the reality is we all just found out about this," Colberg said.
"I ask the patience of the community to allow us time to absorb this, do our homework and find out what the one, three, and five-year plan is for the chamber so that we can do some reacting and figure out what the direction is for the town."
A petition on change.org has been launched by local businessman AJ Frey to save Tyra and keep her in one piece. The petition surpassed 1,000 signatures by Friday afternoon.
The petition calls Tyra a "towering symbol of adventure, discovery, and the heart of our tourism economy.”
It adds: "There is still time and opportunity to work together — to find sustainable, community-driven solutions that preserve this beloved landmark."
Julia Fielding, executive director of Travel Drumheller, said there remains time to discuss the landmark's future.
"It's sad right? She's a major part of the town,” said Fielding. "It's not at every town office you can stand and see the head of a dinosaur when you look out the window.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2025.
Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
