A Young Explorer's Dinosaur Discovery

A young boy's love for adventure led him to make a groundbreaking discovery in Alberta's Horseshoe Canyon. Nathan Hrushkin, just 12 years old, found a piece of a dinosaur fossil sticking out of a rock while on a hike with his dad. This wasn't just any fossil—it was part of a 69-million-year-old juvenile hadrosaur, a duck-billed dinosaur. The find was a big deal for scientists. The Royal Tyrrell Museum confirmed it was real and sent a team to dig up more bones. They found 30 to 50 bones from the same dinosaur. This was special because fossils from this time period are rare. The area where the fossil was found is usually not known for dinosaur remains, making the discovery even more exciting.The fossil came from a part of the canyon that hasn't been studied much. The layers of rock there are between 71 and 68 million years old. These layers have ash, sandstone, and mudstone, which are good for preserving fossils. Scientists think this discovery will help them learn more about what dinosaurs lived in Alberta during that time. The fossil was found on protected land managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. This land is saved to protect nature and also to help scientists learn about the past. The fossil was in great condition because it was protected from development. The bones were carefully taken out and sent to a lab for more study. For Nathan, this discovery was a dream come true. He has always wanted to be a paleontologist. Finding a real dinosaur fossil made him feel like he was on the right path. It was a big moment for him and for science.