INNISFAIL – There were scores and scores of rubberneckers along Highway 2 this week while semi-trailers were hauling a special delivery to town.
On June 10 and 11, Doug Bos, co-owner of Innisfail’s Discovery Wildlife Park, had local drivers from Jenkins Brothers Transport haul three super large animatronic dinosaurs from the Calgary Zoo to Innisfail.
“We came out Highway 2 out of the city, and Highway 2 all the way here at 95 kilometres an hour,” said trucker Jerry Jenkins.
“It was kind of neat, lots of pictures, lots of waves. It was awesome. It was neat to be a part of.”
And the trio of loads were big, gigantic even.
Bos said the average size of each of the three animatronic dinosaurs was about 40- to 50-feet long and 20-feet tall.
“It all went smooth,” said Bos, who was part of the move.
However, there was a slight glitch. A head of one the dinosaurs had to be removed for transport.
“We hauled it separately on a different trailer,” said Jenkins of the dino head. “It was too high, so we had to permit the loads to come out of Calgary. We had to keep them under a certain height to get them here.”
The arrival of the three replica prehistoric beasts completes Bos’ six-month long mission to bring them to Innisfail’s Discovery Wildlife Park.
At a total investment of about $100,000, the Innisfail zoo now has all 28 of its purchased animatronic dinosaurs, along with their power boxes that enable the prehistoric replicas to move and make noises.
The other 25 animatronic dinosaurs, which are all much smaller, were hauled up to Innisfail earlier this spring.
In the meantime, Bos said the recently arrived giants are not quite ready for immediate display.
“They'll be out in the park once we get them doctored up,” said Bos. “Our staff has to work on it after hours. It all depends on time and weather.”
