Latest news with #EmilyBamforth
CTV News
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Grande Prairie area dinosaur featured in upcoming Walking with Dinosaurs television series
Emily Bamforth applies plaster to the pachyrhinosaurus lakusta skull to prepare it for its move in the Pipestone Creek bone bed about 40 km west of Grande Prairie, Alta. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Boily) After almost 25 years a show that brought dinosaurs to life on our television screens is returning, with a local dinosaur taking the spotlight. BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs will feature Wembley's own Pipestone Creek bonebed and its locally unique dinosaur, the pachyrhinosaurus. 'I really loved the original Walking with Dinosaurs, because it was the first time that they had brought dinosaurs to life in a way that presented them as animals,' said Emily Bamforth, Philip J. Currie Museum (PJCDM) curator. She said although dinosaurs were seen on the big screen in movies like Jurassic Park they were depicted as monsters. 'Walking with Dinosaurs was really like a nature documentary about dinosaurs, and no one had ever done that before, so it was hugely influential for me as a kid, and I think it was one of the milestones in terms of the things that influenced me, in terms of the wanting to go into paleontology.' Bamforth is now part of the series as she will help tell the more than 70-million-year-old story of the pachyrhinosaurus and the river of death. 'We tell a story about the bonebed and the herd of animals and the dying from a flood and then getting preserved, but to actually have that brought to life is kind of jaw-dropping,' said Bamforth. She hasn't yet seen the final episode, but an early draft left her with 'tingles' due to how real it felt. 'These aren't just dusty old bones sitting in the ground, these were animals living in this ecosystem,' she said. 'All of this happened right here in northern Alberta, this was our world back then.' A young pachyrhinosaurus named Albie will be featured in the fifth episode of the new series. 'Every year, his herd makes an epic journey north as the seasons change,' says a BBC press release. 'Along the way, he will encounter clashing bulls, tyrannosaur predators, and freak weather events.' According to the BBC, the visual effects teams built up the skeleton, musculature, and finally, the skin in a process that took about 2.5 years. Bamforth says the BBC initially contacted her in 2023 when the show was scouting for various sites worldwide to feature. 'All of the sites in the world, and all the big museums doing big research, they chose us as one of six sites in the world featured for this series, so it really is an incredible honour,' she said. Bamforth and the paleontologist team at PJCDM have been busy: Just last year they made the most significant find to date: a 1.6 metre-long, 461-kilogram skull. It made international headlines and now the museum is once again in the global spotlight thanks to the BBC. 'I think it's bigger than we sort of expected it to be,' said Bamforth, who said she's done over 11 media interviews in the past week from outlets in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 'It is a very special site; it's like no other in the world, like no place I've ever worked has been like this.' The Pipestone Creek bonebed is one of the densest dinosaur bonebeds in North America. 'I think the community of Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities should be really proud of the fact that this is here and that we have the PJCDM that is helping tell that story, and now we have people from around the world that are interested in coming here,' said Bamforth. 'This is something that's ours, and we can really showcase the amazing paleontology that we have up here, which hasn't really been well appreciated in the past.' She hopes it will bring more international and local visitors to the site to discover what it offers. Walking with Dinosaurs premiered in the UK on May 25 and will premiere on PBS in Canada on June 16. By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Grande Prairie area dinosaur featured in upcoming Walking with Dinosaurs television series
After almost 25 years a show that brought dinosaurs to life on our television screens is returning, with a local dinosaur taking the spotlight. BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs will feature Wembley's own Pipestone Creek bonebed and its locally unique dinosaur, the pachyrhinosaurus. 'I really loved the original Walking with Dinosaurs, because it was the first time that they had brought dinosaurs to life in a way that presented them as animals,' said Emily Bamforth, Philip J. Currie Museum (PJCDM) curator. She said although dinosaurs were seen on the big screen in movies like Jurassic Park they were depicted as monsters. 'Walking with Dinosaurs was really like a nature documentary about dinosaurs, and no one had ever done that before, so it was hugely influential for me as a kid, and I think it was one of the milestones in terms of the things that influenced me, in terms of the wanting to go into paleontology.' Bamforth is now part of the series as she will help tell the more than 70-million-year-old story of the pachyrhinosaurus and the river of death. 'We tell a story about the bonebed and the herd of animals and the dying from a flood and then getting preserved, but to actually have that brought to life is kind of jaw-dropping,' said Bamforth. She hasn't yet seen the final episode, but an early draft left her with 'tingles' due to how real it felt. 'These aren't just dusty old bones sitting in the ground, these were animals living in this ecosystem,' she said. 'All of this happened right here in northern Alberta, this was our world back then.' A young pachyrhinosaurus named Albie will be featured in the fifth episode of the new series. 'Every year, his herd makes an epic journey north as the seasons change,' says a BBC press release. 'Along the way, he will encounter clashing bulls, tyrannosaur predators, and freak weather events.' According to the BBC, the visual effects teams built up the skeleton, musculature, and finally, the skin in a process that took about 2.5 years. Bamforth says the BBC initially contacted her in 2023 when the show was scouting for various sites worldwide to feature. 'All of the sites in the world, and all the big museums doing big research, they chose us as one of six sites in the world featured for this series, so it really is an incredible honour,' she said. Bamforth and the paleontologist team at PJCDM have been busy: Just last year they made the most significant find to date: a 1.6 metre-long, 461-kilogram skull. It made international headlines and now the museum is once again in the global spotlight thanks to the BBC. 'I think it's bigger than we sort of expected it to be,' said Bamforth, who said she's done over 11 media interviews in the past week from outlets in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 'It is a very special site; it's like no other in the world, like no place I've ever worked has been like this.' The Pipestone Creek bonebed is one of the densest dinosaur bonebeds in North America. 'I think the community of Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities should be really proud of the fact that this is here and that we have the PJCDM that is helping tell that story, and now we have people from around the world that are interested in coming here,' said Bamforth. 'This is something that's ours, and we can really showcase the amazing paleontology that we have up here, which hasn't really been well appreciated in the past.' She hopes it will bring more international and local visitors to the site to discover what it offers. Walking with Dinosaurs premiered in the UK on May 25 and will premiere on PBS in Canada on June 16.
CBC
22-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Digging towards a massive find
Finding fossils is very common here in Alberta. But what isn't as common is finding a site with thousands of preserved dinosaurs. Just southwest of Grand Prairie, Alta., in Pipestone Creek, a dinosaur mass grave is being uncovered. Emily Bamforth is a paleontologist and curator at the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
73-million years old Dinosaur mass grave with thousands of fossils found in Canada's 'River of Death'
Image: Reuters world of fossils often moves slowly, bone by bone, layer by layer. But sometimes, certain unique fossils send ripples through the scientific community, giving unknown information about prehistoric life. These moments aren't just about finding ancient skeletons, instead, they're about unlocking stories frozen in time. When fossils are found in large numbers, especially from a single event, they can give a clearer picture of how those creatures lived, moved, and even died. Unlike isolated dinosaur skeletons found scattered across the globe, mass fossil sites tell a tale of migration, survival, and sudden catastrophe. They give a rare peek into a day in the life of the Cretaceous period. For fossil researchers, these locations aren't just dig sites, they're time treasures, giving the kind of evidence that textbooks can't always explain The fossil site in Alberta Alberta's Pipestone Creek, is popularly known as the graveyard of Dinosaurs, because it has a dense layer of dinosaur bones, stretching nearly a kilometre, has been unearthed and it may represent one of the greatest fossil finds in North America. The site, which is dominated by remains of the horned dinosaur Pachyrhinosaurus , is unlike anything researchers have seen before. The fossils are tightly packed, so much so that bones are stacked on top of each other. According to the BBC, 'Jaw-dropping in terms of its density,' is how Professor Emily Bamforth, who leads the excavation, describes it. While some bones are easily recognisable, like ribs or hip bones, others remain a subject for research. She explains that some are 'a great example of a Pipestone Creek mystery.' According to Bamforth, the most likely cause was a sudden flood that wiped out a migrating herd around 73 million years ago. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch Bitcoin và Ethereum - Không cần ví! IC Markets BẮT ĐẦU NGAY Undo Fossils are vital for understanding Earth's history and the evolution of life. They provide evidence of past organisms, their environments, and how species have changed over time. By studying fossils, scientists can reconstruct ancient ecosystems and understand extinction events. Fossils also help in dating rock layers, offering a timeline of geological and biological events. They give insights into climate changes and continental shifts over millions of years. Moreover, fossils are essential in evolutionary biology, confirming links between species and supporting theories like natural selection. In essence, fossils are time capsules that unlock the story of life on Earth. What is so special about it? The Pipestone Creek is unique because all the bones seem to belong to the same species and the same moment in time. This rare event allows scientists to study an entire group of dinosaurs at once, giving information about the age, size differences, and herd behaviour. Unlike the individual fossil discoveries that reveal skeletons of a single dinosaur, Pipestone provides a population-level perspective that is important for understanding how these animals lived and moved together. So far, only a tennis-court-sized area has been excavated. But with over 8,000 bones catalogued and more fossil-rich ground waiting below, researchers believe this is just the beginning and is being managed by the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, It was however first spotted by a schoolteacher in 1973. Pipestone Creek, is now called the 'River of Death' and is becoming a wellspring of ancient knowledge that may change how we understand dinosaur life forever.
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-05-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Mystery of Dinosaur Mass Grave at Canada's 'River of Death'
Hidden beneath the slopes of a lush forest in Alberta, Canada, is a mass grave on a monumental scale. Thousands of dinosaurs were buried there, killed in an instant on a day of utter devastation. A group of paleontologists have come to Pipestone Creek - appropriately nicknamed the 'River of Death' - to help solve a 72-million-year-old enigma: how did they die? According to a report by BBC, trying to work out exactly what happened there starts with the hefty strike of a sledgehammer. Brute force is needed to crack open the thick layer of rock that covers what Professor Emily Bamforth, who's leading the dig, described as "palaeo gold." As her team begins the more delicate job of removing the layers of dirt and dust, a jumble of fossilized bones slowly begins to emerge. The fossils in the small patch of ground that the team are working on are incredibly tightly packed. Bamforth estimates there are up to 300 bones in every square meter. Thousands of fossils have been collected from the site, and are constantly generating new discoveries. Paleontologists believe the dinosaurs were migrating together in a colossal herd for hundreds of miles from the south - where they had spent the winter - to the north for the summer. Paleontologist Jackson Sweder is particularly interested in what looks like a chunk of dinosaur skull. 'Most of what we find here is a duck-billed dinosaur called Edmontosaurus. If this is a skull bone, this is a dinosaur that's large - probably 30ft (10m) long,' he said. Sweder is the collection manager at the Philip J Currie Dinosaur Museum in nearby Grande Prairie, where the bones from both of these giants are taken to be cleaned up and analyzed. He is currently working on a huge Pachyrhinosaurus skull that's about 1.5m long and has been nicknamed 'Big Sam.' All the evidence suggests that this catastrophic event was a flash flood - perhaps a storm over the mountains that sent an unstoppable torrent of water towards the herd, ripping trees from their roots and shifting boulders. 'We know, every time we come here, it's 100% guaranteed we'll find bones. And every year we discover something new about the species,' said Bamforth. As the team packs up their tools ready to return another day, they know there's a lot of work ahead. They've only just scratched the surface of what's here - and there are many more prehistoric secrets just waiting to be revealed.
