Cowboy Lassos Triceratops, Or The Most “Wyoming” Thing That’s Ever Happened
Leave it to a Wyoming cowboy to lasso a dinosaur.
Triceratops (meaning “three-horned face”)
This was a large horn-faced, dinosaur that lived in North America during the late Cretaceous period 67 to 65.5 million years ago.
The first one was found by a rancher in Colorado.
Mr. George Lyman Cannon near Denver, Colorado, in the spring of 1887.
One year later, in 1888, in the Lance Formation of Wyoming cowboy Edmund B. Wilson spotted something sticking out of a hillside.
Imagine his surprise to see a huge horned skull embedded in a ravine wall above his head.
It was too high for him to reach, so Wilson, a Wyoming cowboy, lassoed one of the horns and with the help of his horse, pulled it down.
The horn broke off in the lasso.
The skull fell to the bottom of the ravine.
His employer, Charles Arthur Guernsey, was impressed by the horn and showed it to paleontologist and fossil collector John Bell Hatcher.
To this day Triceratops remains are being found all around Wyoming.
Most commonly in the area of Casper, Glenrock, Douglas, and Lusk.
The Tate Dinosaur Museum is located at Casper College. It hosts a large collection of what has been found in the area.
The Tate Museum even hosts Dino Digs for anyone that might want to give it a try.
The goals of Tate Dinosaur Safaris are to offer fun, educational experiences to the public while building up the museum’s collections for display and research. Registration will be through the museum. The fee includes six nights of lodging, six dinners, five field lunches, five breakfasts at the hotel in Lusk or Medicine Bow, snacks, drinks/water, and all ground transportation from Casper. The price is $1150 for a double occupancy room. There is an extra fee ($350) if you want to room solo. A non-refundable deposit of $500.00 is required upon registration to hold your place. The balance of the fee is due no later than 60 days prior to the start of the dig. The minimum age for participation is 16. All 16 and 17-year-olds must be accompanied by an adult participant.