Hamerton Zoo Park

From the 11th June 2022, take a trip on our Road-Train and meet some of the planets massive extinct animals, and some of the 'modern' mammals which eventually rose from their ashes, following the Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction 'event'. A massive meteorite strike in central America wiped out most of life on Earth. Train tickets cost £3.50 per person, and out of season, can be purchased from the Coffee-Shop and/or the train-driver. Please see the signs at the Park entrance for more info on the day, as a time-table may be in operation on quieter days. In season, tickets are available from the kiosk at the top of the Play-Area. This new extended route, price and detail replaces/supersedes the old ones and means our train no longer has to run on the Park paths.

Dilophosaurus - living nearly 200 million years ago the Dilophosaurus was the largest living land animal in North America at the time, and one of the earliest predatory dinosaurs. Our model shows the characteristics added for the film Jurassic Park. There is no evidence that it could spit venom, and the neck frill (similar to that of the Australian Frilled Dragon) was added by the film’s art department to distinguish it from a Velociraptor.

Ankylosaurus - the heavy armour helped protect what is thought to be a slow-moving and sluggish, generalised browsing animal. Its tail club is know from just a single specimen. The Ankylosaurus was one of the very last of the non-avian dinosaurs found in Montana and other parts of the USA at the very end of the Cretaceous. As they could grow to over 6 metres long and weigh more than 8 tons, our model is of a young animal.

Apatosaurus - a relatively early dinosaur, the Apatosaurus and its relative the Brontosaurus, were found in North America alongside the Stegosaurus. It was often thought that their huge size meant that they were at least partly amphibious, but it is now believed that they were wholly terrestrial herbivores. Similarly, their long necks were assumed to allow them to eat leaves high in trees like a Giraffe, as ours is doing – but from studies of skeletal muscle attachment points there is now doubt as to whether they would have been able to lift their heads and necks up high.

TRICERATOPS - found in the later Cretaceous, mainly in North America, the Triceratops (along with the Tyrannosaurus) was one of the last dinosaurs to become extinct. They are often portrayed as living in herds, but there is no fossil evidence for this. Their teeth show that they were herbivorous, most likely feeding on palms, cycads and ferns. There is still much debate about the function of their characteristic horns and neck shield, which have been defensive or used during display and jousting. One of the oldest known dinosaurs, fossil COELOPHYSIS (seen in the foreground) have been found in huge numbers; over 30 from a dig in South Africa and 1000 at one site in New Mexico. Although scientists believe that they were pack hunters, these enormous numbers must have been the result of something like a flash flood. Their teeth show that they were active carnivores, and most likely took prey much smaller than themselves.

Stegosaurus - one of the better known dinosaurs from the later Jurassic, the Stegosaurus is known from fossils found in the USA & Portugal. Early discoveries of fossils were very scattered and it was a long time before scientists were able to get a better idea of their appearance and posture. They were most likely browsers eating low bushes and shrubs; with the tail spikes used for defence and the plates along the spine for display.

Pachycephalosaurus - another poorly known dinosaur from the late Cretaceous found in North America. Only one fossil of the domed skull has ever been found, which due to the thickened bone led to speculation and the theory that it was used as a battering ram for fighting in a similar way to modern Bighorn Sheep. The teeth given some indication that it was a herbivore, although the front ones are similar to those of carnivorous Therapods.

Velociraptor - this small fast running predator was strictly carnivorous, and thought to be able to kill animals considerably larger than itself. From the late Cretaceous period, fossils have been found in Mongolia. It was little known until made famous by the Jurassic Park films, where the name ‘Raptor’ was used for dinosaurs modelled on Deinonychus, a different animal. Now thought to be partially warm-blooded, some scientists now speculate that Velociraptors had some insulating feathers.

Spinosaurus - the longest ever land carnivore, the Spinosaurus could reach lengths of 14m and a weight of 8 tons – so ours is only a young one! Found in America, Eqypt and Morocco, just six specimens have been found. Its skeleton shows that it was semi-aquatic, and it is known to have eaten fish. Spinosaurs were found late in the history of the dinosaurs, just before the end of the Cretaceous.

Tyrannosaurus - close to one hundred fossils of Tyrannosaurus have been found, making it one of the most researched and famous dinosaurs. It is one of the largest carnivorous animals ever to have lived on Earth and went extinct at the K-T extinction event when most of life on the planet was killed by an asteroid strike. The abundance of remains suggest that Tyrannosaurs were relatively common and could live to around 30 years of age.