Giant dinosaur animatronics on Vancouver Island up for sale
It started with the purchase of two dinosaurs on a dare at an auction, but now Lantzville's Stan Pottie has 14 of them.
"You know, some guys collect tractors or fancy cars or whatever," said Pottie. "After I got the first two, then I got one out of Turkiye and then I got a couple out of China."
As his collection grew, so did the popularity of visitors coming to his property on central Vancouver Island. People attended birthday parties and holiday celebrations around the prehistoric creatures.
One of the 14 dinosaur animatronics is shown. (CTV News)"It kind of hit me by accident. When we brought the first one home, we couldn't believe the reaction we got and how people got so excited," said Pottie.
"Just the first one. And by the time we got the second one home we realized we got something here," he said.
But now, the creatures are about to become extinct, as they'll all be sold during an online auction on May 25.
The auction will be conducted by ableauctions.ca. The company's manager for Vancouver Island says the firm supervises about 200 auctions a year and surprisingly this isn't their first one involving the prehistoric creatures.
"We had a big touring dinosaur show about three years ago and it was a huge success," said Brett Johnston. "Kids love dinosaurs and there's a little kid in every grownup."
Johnston says much of the interest for the auction has come from business owners like Cameron Thun, who hopes to add something to his Prince George liquor store.
"Right now I have working model railways, I have radio controlled airplanes, custom-painted murals and hopefully now we're adding two Velociraptors," Thun said.
The dinosaurs displays are located in Lantzville, B.C., just north of Nanaimo. (CTV News)Dustin Edwards flew in from Drumheller, AB, to preview the items. He operates Barney's Adventure Park and says auctions like these are rare.
"It's not very common you see these animatronics pop up like this," he said. "There's some really cool dinosaurs here that we don't have as part of our collection, things like the pterodactyl behind me, some interesting smaller raptors."
Pottie says Lantzville wasn't keen on hosting a dinosaur attraction.
"The city doesn't want anything commercial or anything up in these areas even though there's lots of land," he said.
"We're not really hurting anybody but the town doesn't want them here."
Johnston says other locations are interested.
"There's one in Alberta that wants to have a town theme of dinosaurs, so I hope they have a chance of getting it," he said.
The dinosaurs drew visitors to the central Vancouver Island town. (CTV News)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.