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
Canada outlines national action plan to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Monday to jurors in the Republican's hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Trump's company as defence lawyers seized on the star witness' misdeeds to attack his credibility.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Investors watching posts from 'Crypto King' in the wake of fraud, money laundering charges
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
Almost 2 months after it destroyed Baltimore's Key Bridge, the Dali cargo ship has been moved
The cargo ship Dali is being moved from the site of its catastrophic collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in a crucial step toward fully reopening the busy Port of Baltimore.