Andre Bisson/FacebookGuernsey is turning into Isla Nublar after one dad’s purchase: a full-size dinosaur, dropped into his garden by crane.
Andre Bisson’s four-year-old son, Theo, is obsessed with dinosaurs. After watching Disney’s animated classic, Dinosaur, he was particularly found of the Carnotaurus species (Carnotaur for short).
For months, he’d been saying: ‘Daddy, I want the biggest Carnotaur you’ve ever seen.’ Well, Andre delivered, unwittingly shipping in a six-metre, full-size dino – and it’s amazing.
Have a look at the massive dinosaur arriving on the island below:
Meet Chaz, Guernsey’s newest prehistoric resident, ‘nestled nicely into palm trees and enjoying west coast salt air living’, Andre told UNILAD.
His initial attempts at finding a large Carnotaur for his son weren’t particularly fruitful. In a BBC Sounds interview, the dino dad explained that Theo’s mum led the way, sending him a link to Jersey’s Tamba Park on the neighbouring island, which just so happened to be selling off its dinosaurs. ‘No way, I have to have this,’ he said.
Andre Bisson/FacebookAndre added:
I phoned them straight away and I was lucky enough because they were inundated, and managed to secure him. I thought: ‘This’ll be the biggest dinosaur you’ll ever see.’ So he’s a full size, teenage dinosaur in age.
When I looked on the website, I thought it was about three metres long and it’d fit nicely next to the hot tub and it’d be quite fun. It wasn’t until the boys from Channel Seaways – who did an epic job trying to get him from Jersey – told me it wouldn’t fit in their truck that I thought, ‘Wow, it must be about six metres.’ Then I knew he wouldn’t fit anywhere apart from my very small garden.
Meanwhile… on Dino News.. 🦖 Chaz the Carnataur has made the crossing 🌊 and currently resting within a secure compound…
Posted by Andre Bisson on Saturday, January 18, 2020
Chaz wasn’t a cheap addition to the household, costing £1,000. While there aren’t any plans to build his own back-garden Jurassic Park, Andre is a big fan. As for the neighbours, ‘whilst they think I am bonkers, they think it’s great, although I haven’t seen all of them,’ he said.
Andre Bisson/FacebookAndre hoped he’d be able to get Chaz home for Christmas, but logistically it just wasn’t possible (the park’s director even messaged him personally to apologise).
In fact, because of the delay, Tamba Park even sent out Dave, a smaller, no-less-fierce dino.
Andre BissonAfter a downpour in Jersey, Chaz’s skin got wet, causing him to balloon in weight up to two tons. When he eventually arrived, ‘seven guys couldn’t lift or move him… so they had to organise a JCB to get him out’.
His long-awaited arrival has gone down a storm with Theo, with Andre saying:
Theo didn’t want to go to school as he didn’t want to leave him, he thought he’d be home alone – he wanted to take him on the yellow crane. He said he was hungry, so we cooked fish fingers and fed him. Theo and Chaz are best buds – he’s got a pet dinosaur!
Chaz would not be contained, Chaz expanded to a new territory… Chaz found a way.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.