DINO DOG
Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park

Episode 2: Dinosaur Teeth in the Land of Hoodoos
by Rose Muenker

World Heritage Site: Dinosaur Provincial Park
Province: Alberta
Country: Canada
Continent: North America
Year it became a World Heritage Site: 1979
Maps: Alberta Canada

Episodes: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3

The Fossil Safari bus drove deep into the hot, dry badlands. The desert landscape looked eerie. There weren't any trees or plants.

Weird-shaped rocks were everywhere. Some looked like castle towers. Others looked like strange creatures.

"These are hoodoos," Tom explained. "Wind and rain have worn away parts of the rock. They've sculpted them into these odd shapes."

Outside the bus, Sonya inched toward the hoodoos. She sniffed them to make sure they weren't really ghosts.

One hoodoo looked like a camel crossing the desert. Two of them had tops as flat as pancakes.

"We call them foodoos," Tom joked. Sonya's tummy growled.

"This is a good place to look for dinosaur teeth," Tom added. Everybody started looking for some.

"Watch out for jelly mud," Tom warned.

"Last night's rain has turned patches of this dirt into sticky, slippery goo."

His warning was too late for Sonya. "Yuk!" she yelped as her four paws sank into the jelly mud. She couldn't budge.

Tom grabbed her collar to pull her out. Pop! went the mud as one goopy paw broke free. Pop! Pop! Pop! Finally all four paws stood on dry, firm ground. Sonya nuzzled Tom with thanks.

She started searching for dinosaur teeth again. She remembered the One Paw oath and used only one of her paws to touch the pieces of rock.

"A tooth! A tooth!" she barked.

"Good work, Sonya," Tom said. "This looks like a Centrosaurus tooth. This dinosaur had a big horn on its nose. It looked like a rhinoceros."

Sonya beamed with pride. "Next I'll find a leg bone!"

"Are you ready for some serious fossil hunting?" Duncan asked the group.

"Yes!" everybody shouted.

"Then climb aboard."

To be continued…
In the next episode, Sonya searches for a BIG fossil.

Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about fossils and dinosaurs.

Read a non-fiction article about Dinosaur Provincial Park.

See how many words you know on the Word Match.

DINO DOG Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park Episode 2: Dinosaur Teeth in the Land of Hoodoos by Rose Muenker

DINO DOG
Sonya, the World Heritage Pointer, Explores Dinosaur Provincial Park

Episode 2: Dinosaur Teeth in the Land of Hoodoos
by Rose Muenker