The Sinclair dinosaur takes a hike to the M

In the early morning after Halloween, the iconic Sinclair dinosaur from Zeke’s Little Store gas station was stolen, driven down the road and carried nearly two miles up the College M Trail.

The dinosaur remained at the top of the trail until the following afternoon, attracting lots of attention from the Bozeman community.

“I was shocked,” said Stacy Huntley, the business owner of Zeke’s Little Store on Bridger Drive. “7:30 in the morning, I got a text from some friends with a picture of the dinosaur at the M saying, ‘Is this your dinosaur?’” 

Huntley contacted the employee running the store at the time, who confirmed that it was, in fact, their dinosaur that had been stolen.

“I think it was premeditated,” Huntley said. “The young men came around 3:30 in the morning and decided to cut the cable that tied the dinosaur down. They left their bolt cutters there.”

The dinosaur — made of hollow fiberglass —  weighs roughly 270 pounds, according to Huntley. “It’s really just more awkward than heavy,” she said.

Security cameras also captured footage of the dinosaur thieves taking the statue. “Two boys lifted it up on their shoulders and carried it across the parking lot,” Huntley said. “You can see a third one come to see if they needed any help.”

“I’m sure they had a carload [of people], because carrying it up the mountain I would assume was harder than carrying it down,” she said.

The dinosaur was not damaged and remained at the top of the trail until around 2:30 p.m. During this time, hikers took photos with the dinosaur and Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting and aerospace services company, did a flyover to provide an overhead view of the scene. 

The dinosaur was carried down by five people — Huntley’s son, three friends and a passing hiker — and safely returned to Zeke’s Little Store.

MSU students shared their thoughts on the prank. “I thought it was hilarious,” said computer science major Nicholas Kasten. “[It was] a harmless prank and the dino wasn’t damaged, as far as I know. All of the local news and Bridger Aerospace seemed to get a good kick out of it.”

“[It was] a very impressive feat,” said kinesiology major Nathaniel Dill. “My only words for the pranksters is that the dinosaur would look great on Baldy Peak next year.”

While the University Police Department was not involved in the case, Deputy Chief Adam Pankratz said students should be mindful of pranks in the future. 

“What may seem like an innocent prank to the people pulling it may feel significantly different to the victim of that prank,” he said. “Pranks, regardless of intent, often violate criminal laws or university policy and may result in criminal charges, suspension or expulsion.”

“People ended up enjoying [the prank]. It was something different and turned out to be positive,” Huntley said. “If the boys had taken it up there and thrown it down the mountain, I would be pursuing who they were and probably prosecute them.”

While she said she is not pressing charges, Huntley did not encourage this behavior. “Please don’t keep taking our dinosaur,” she said. “I know this is really fun, but tracking our dinosaur is not something we want to do.”