The most complete tyrannosaurus rex skeleton in the world, nicknamed “Sue,” in honor of the paleontologist who discovered her, stands over adoring crowds at Chicago’s Field Museum. However, Sue’s journey the field museum was not an easy one, though. Prior to finally being put on display in 2000, there was a battle for Sue’s bones. A fossil hunter, the ranch owner, the federal government, and a Native American tribe all vied for ownership of the dinosaur, in a fight that involved the FBI seizing a warehouse of dinosaur bones, and a man going to prison.

Related Links:

“Bones of Contention” from the Chicago Tribune, 2003

“A Dinosaur Named Sue Divides Fossil Hunters” from the New York Times, 1992

Sue is the subject of Dinosaur 13, a documentary sympathetic to Peter Larson that has drawn some criticism.

Peter Larson’s Reddit AMA