An extinct giant of the past will help an endangered species of today when 30000 euros (more than R485000) from the sale of a £2million (more than R37m) dinosaur will be donated to the charity, Save Our Orangutans, after being sold by Aguttes Auctions in Paris on June 13.
This proportion of the sale proceeds of the 155-million-year-old skeleton of the dinosaur species Diplodocus, currently on view at Heathrow Airport in London, will go towards a fund for protecting the great apes.
Save Our Orangutans will use the funds for the extension of the primate house menagerie at the Jardin des Plantes, a park containing a small zoo in Paris.
The seller hopes the donation will lead to further public support. Last year the Aguttes sale of a Theropod dinosaur skeleton at the Eiffel Tower helped the Sea Shepherd and Cheetah Center environmental associations.
The skeleton of the Diplodocus, on view at Heathrow since April 2, will be removed from the airport at the end of next month to prepare for its June 13 disposal.
Nicknamed “Skinny”, the skeleton revealed significant impressions of the skin of the dinosaur after its discovery in the US in 2012.