The United States v. One Tyrannosaurus Bataar

When a Mongolian paleontologist sees a dinosaur skeleton illegally up for auction in the United States, she goes to great lengths to stop the sale. For more information on this episode, visit nationalgeographic.com/overheard Want more? Read about the latest discoveries in paleontology, such as the T.Rex's survival strategy for when food was scarce. Find out about the entrepreneur from Florida who went to jail for smuggling Mongolian fossils. Learn about the two leading theories for why dinosaurs went extinct in the first place. Also explore: Watch the final return of the fossil that was auctioned off in New York to Bolor Minjin and other representatives of the Mongolian government. Bolor once took a Winnebago filled with dinosaur exhibits off-road, across the Gobi. Read more about how she's helping to educate Mongolians about paleontology at The Institute for the Study of Mongolian Dinosaurs. And for paid subscribers: Take a look behind the scenes at the private collectors who are buying dinosaur bones. Bones are the most common type of dinosaur fossil, but in the right conditions, scales and even skin can be preserved. See pictures of a petrified nodosaur on our website. If you like what you hear and want to support more content like this, please consider a National Geographic subscription. Go to natgeo.com/exploremore to subscribe today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices