Stolen dinosaur recovered in New Plymouth after police search, one person arrested

Police officers recovered the stolen dinosaur and returned it to the Amazing Dinosaur Discovery display in New Plymouth.

Police have tracked down a dinosaur stolen from a display in New Plymouth.

The model dinosaur, which appears to be based on a small theropod, possibly an Oviraptor, was first reported as missing on The Amazing Dinosaur Discovery Facebook page on October 17.

“HELP,” the dinosaur display said, “Our baby dinosaur’s mom has been stolen“.

HELP‼️Our baby dinosaur’s mom has been stolen‼️😭🦕🦖 That’s right, one of our dinos has gone missing. If you know...

Posted by The Amazing Dinosaur Discovery on Thursday 16 October 2025

“If it was just a prank, please bring her back. We just want our dino family back together!”

The Amazing Dinosaur Discovery had been touring “30 lifelike dinosaurs” around the country and had stopped in near New Plymouth Raceway.

The dinosaurs were only supposed to stay in the town on October 18 and 19, but their stay was extended an extra week because of “high demand”.

However, the stolen dinosaur only saw one day of action before being ripped away from her model nest.

Police said they received reports that a model dinosaur had been stolen from a property near Rogan St, New Plymouth, on October 18.

Information from the public resulted in police conducting a search warrant on October 23. The dino was found, and a 20-year-old man was arrested.

Police arrested a 20-year-old after recovering a dinosaur stolen from a display.

Police released pictures of the recovered reptile and said she has now been reunited with her family.

“Jurassic justice has been served,” they said.