DINO DOG
Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park

Episode 1: All Aboard the Fossil Safari
by Rose Muenker

World Heritage Site: Dinosaur Provincial Park
Province: Alberta
Country: Canada
Continent: North America
Year it became a World Heritage Site: 1979
Maps: Alberta Canada

Episodes: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

Dinosaur bones! The chance to search for buried bones made Sonya jump and spin with joy. Dinosaur Provincial Park has thousands of them.

Sonya bounded onto the Fossil Safari bus. It takes visitors deep into the protected area of the park. Remains of ancient animals, called fossils, are preserved in the ground. The fossils include bones, scales and teeth.

"Hundreds of dinosaurs roamed here," said Tom, the guide. "Today their skeletons are buried in these hills. More than 300 dinosaur skeletons have been found."

"I'll find another one!" Sonya woofed to the girl next to her.

The bus groaned up a steep dirt road. On the way, Tom explained the "One Finger Rule." The fossil site is a world treasure. To protect it, visitors can only touch rocks and fossils with one finger.

"For you, Sonya, we'll use the 'One Paw Rule.'" Tom told her.

"Only one paw?" Sonya sighed. "How can I find a dinosaur bone without digging?"

Tom held up one finger and said to the busload of 21 explorers, "Let's take the oath." Twenty fingers and one paw stretched high into the air. In unison, everybody repeated the oath. They promised not to move, break or steal any natural resource.

The guide described the hot, steamy swamp that was here 75 million years ago. The dinosaurs included the Albertosaurus, a ferocious meat eater.

"That was long before T-Rex," Tom clarified. "Albertosaurus was T-Rex's great-great-grandfather."

"I'd love to find one of his bones," Sonya yipped.

The guide passed around glass jars with fossils inside. One held a meat eater's tooth. The jagged edges looked sharp as a knife. Another jar held the big, flat teeth of a plant eater.

"Plant eaters had more than 1,000 teeth," Tom said. "I know a great place to look for some. It's surrounded with hoodoos!"

Sonya cocked her head. Hoodoos? That's a scary name. Are they ghosts?

To be continued…
In the next issue, Sonya goes into the land of the hoodoos.

Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about fossils and dinosaurs.

Read a non-fiction article about Dinosaur Provincial Park.

See how many words you know on the Word Match.

DINO DOG Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park Episode 1: All Aboard the Fossil Safari by Rose Muenker

DINO DOG
Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park

Episode 1: All Aboard the Fossil Safari
by Rose Muenker