Like Bronze Idols, India’s Dino Egg Fossils Risk Being Sold Abroad

In Western India, some of the country’s richest fossil beds lie inside open coal mines. It is Gruelling Work for Palaeontologist with long days under a haze of dust, the deafening hammering of tools, and nights in small-to hotels with basic comforts.

In 2024, Palaeontologist Sunil Bajpai Reported that At One Such Dig, He and His Team Uncovered The fossilized Vertebrae of Vasuki indicusThis ancient giant snake may have stretched as long as a tour business. But without a National Repository or a Secure, Catalogue Fossil Locker Like that thats Abroad, The Stony Remains of this 47-Million-Year-OD Serpent face an uncertain future.

“I worry about what will happen to these fossils after I retire in two years,” said 63-year-old bajpai, Chair Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at IIT -roorkee. “Will they be preserved or fall Victim to theft or Vandalism?”

Around the world, fossils once bound for labs are now advertised in storfronts and auction houses. Ammonites, Extinct Sea Creatures With Coiled Shells, Once Crowded Ancient Oceans. Today, their fossilized remains are sold on the streets of paris. Larger, Rarer Specimens Fetch Staggering Sums at Auctions from Private Collectors.

In July 2024, Sotheby’s Auction House in New York Sold A Near-Complete Stegosaurus, A Plant-Eating Dinosaur With Spikes, for $ 44.6 Million. It was the most expensive fossil ever auctioned. In California, Luxury Homes Trumpet Dinosaur Skeletons as Living-ROM Showpieces.

Thomas carr is a palaeontologist at the cost Tyrannosaurus RexOne of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs in history. In a study published this april titled ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex: An Endangered Species’, Carr Reported that 71 Scientificly Important T. Rex Specimens are in private hands. Just 61 of these finds are help by public institutions.

“Commercial Collectors Have Gathered More T. Rex Material than scientists have prince the first specimen washed, “Carr said over a phone call.

Heritage at Risk

Over Decades, India’s Cultural Treasures Have Often Vanished Into Private Hands. In 1898, a British landowner Unerted Hundreds of Gems from a Buddhist Shrine in Uttar Pradesh. The relaics styed in his family for generations before part of the collection was slasted for auction at sotheby’s in hong kong in 2025. The Indian Government Blocked The Sale. Scientists caution that fossils could be the next heroitage loss to the auction block.

“The Palaeontological Record of India, Especially The Mesozoic Age, is incrededibly important to our undersrstanding of the evolution of the evolution of dinosaurs and other organisms,” Carr Said, Referring to the ‘Ezek Reptiles’ when dinosaurs Rules the Earth. “We can’t afford to lose it.”

India’s fossil records some of the earliest plant life, dinosaus and even a skull of ancient humans. That wealth of fossils is due to the subcontinent’s prolonged isolation after splitting from the southern supercontinent Gondwanaland Around 150 Million Years ago. After India Collided With Asia 50 to 60 Million Years ago, Ancestral Horses and Whales Emerged along with its coasts.

“As of now there are no laws governing fossils and there are huege concerns about vandalization and local sales taking place,” Bajpai said. “If we don’t move fast, we’re going to lose a part of earth’s history that you can never get back.

Unsung custodians

Fossils can Vanish without Trace: Misplaced in Storerooms, Crambling from Heat and Rain or Hidden Away in Private Collections. One Large Cache of Indian Fossils Today lies with the ranga rao-obergfell trust. It is a collection bill by the late Indian Palaeontologist MS Ranga Rao and His Late Wife, The German Palaeontologist Friedlinde Obergfelll.

The Couple Unerted Truckloads of Fossils, Including Bones of a Small, HOFED, Land-DWLILING HERBIVORE CALLED IndohyusDutch-Arican Palaeontologist Hans Thewissen Examined The Specimen in 2005 And Spotted Features That Signaled That That Signals Indohyus was one of the earliest knowledge whale ancestors. The private collection is now kept in a dehradun home. Some fossils even lie exposed in the garden, according to Bajpai. The collection, Built Over Decades, Remains Largely Unsorted and Unstoodid.

With no formal safeguards, some enthusiasts have turned custodians of India’s deep history. Vishal Verma, a Schoolteacher in Madhya Pradesh, Spends Weekends Rescuing Dinosaur Bones and Shells from Riverbeds. The limestone and basalt hills in his neighBourhood, formed 146-65 million years ago, Cradle fossilized dinosaur nests and eggs. Ammonites Coiled Like Snakes, Slabs of Fossil Wood and Shards of Reptile Teeth Fill Every Corner of Verma’s Home.

“We have to reconstrance the importance of these finds – they tell the story of our past, the story of Earth,” said verma, speaking in hindi. “There must be strict measures against misuse and vandalism. Fossils should be accessible to people, but they must also be protected.”

In 2006, Verma Stumbled Upon Hundreds of Dinosaur Eggs. He Borrowed Money to Rent a Truck and Move Some to a Government Museum in Mandav. But that wasn’t enough to protect them. In 2013, some of the eggs was stolen and the rest was locked away from public view.

“One day they were on the shelf and the other day they weren’T,” said Ashok Saahni, A Veteran Indian Palaeontologist of the theft. “Well, when money come into the picture, it’s very different in a court like Ors to Safeguard Anything BeCause You Can Dut Guards and You Can Dut Wire and You Can Do Everything. You can do everything. They lost some of the dinosaur eggs kept there and nobody knows how. “

Fossils for Sale

Fossils ARENRAT PREY FOR VANDALS or Roadseide Sellers Anymore. A simple google search can lead you to sites open seling fossilized dinosaur eggs. They’ve also also become tropheies for the rich.

The stegosaurus fossil that sold for a record $ 44.6 million at sotheby’s last year went to hedege fund trader kenneth Grifin. The fossil freenzy has even Drawn Hollywood Celebrities Like Nicolas Cage and Leonardo Dicaprio, Who Once a fidding war over a dinosaur skull. Sotheby’s has further stoked the appetite, carving out a new department in 2021 seling fossils along with along with and cinema memorabilia.

A less years ago, a draft plan for a national fossil repository in India raised hopes. But that plan has been progressed. Experts warn that in its absence, India’s prehistoric treasures remain vulnerable to auctions abroad.

“With no law to prohibit their extraction or sale, IT’s entryly poses

For now, the 27 fossilized vertebrae bajpai found of the Vasuki indicus Rest in a box at IIT-Rorkee. At an estimated 49 feet, The Giant Python-Like Snake Would have been longer than the T. Rex That palaeontologist car found to be drifting into private hands. Only time will tell if this fossil will be safeguarded as a national treasure, safe from any auction block.

anupama.c@thehindu.co.in

Published – August 26, 2025 05:30 AM IST