Seems like it’s the new normal at our national parks: if it ain’t nailed down, feel free to take it.

That’s what someone apparently did with some ancient fossil footprints reportedly stolen from Death Valley National Park. And if you can walk away with footprints, that’s apparently what the thief did. Related Articles Fossils stolen from Death Valley National Park

Earlier this week, scientists who intended to document the fossilized animal tracks discovered the theft and reported it to rangers. Here’s what they know so far: the park service has posted fliers with photos of three backpackers who were in the vicinity and may know something about the footprints that walked away. Authorities did not identify the specific area of the 3.4-million-acre park where they went missing. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information about the fossils, formed as many as 5 million years ago by animals crossing what was then a muddy watering hole.

And as Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds points out, it’s against the law to steal fossils, rocks or anything else in national parks.

Turns out national parks and other protected areas are the scenes of many such crimes. Someone once made off with a set of 3,500-year-old petroglyphs from the Volcanic Tablelands area outside Bishop, California by cutting them from the volcanic rock. A 2000 news report said “visitors seeking souvenirs” is the main source of theft in national parks/ There were “nearly 20,000 known violations” in 1999, up 46% from 1998. An estimated 12 tons of petrified wood is stolen from Petrified Forest National Park every year by visitors taking “souvenirs” from the park.

The list of hot items goes on and on: protected fossils, Native American pottery and arrowheads, Civil War relics, along with countless plants and animals are removed unlawfully from out national park system each year.

Here are just a few of things stolen:

Where: Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

When: February 2017

What: Thousands of rounds of rifle and pistol ammo from a locked building used by the park service for law enforcement

Where: Yellowstone National Park

When: May 2016

What: A baby bison. Tourists loaded the poor thing into their vehicle because they were allegedly concerned for its welfare. But since it could not be reunited with its herd after authorities found the animal it had to be euthanized.

Where: Glacier National Park, Montana

When: April 2011

What: The Worlds Largest Purple Spoon was stolen from the Spiral Spoon shop just outside the park’s entrance. The builder of the spoon, Charley Wagner, says some woodcutters found the broken 14-foot-long spoon in a ravine after it was nabbed from in front of the store on night. “We figured it was people who were probably drinking a bit too much,” said Wager, who rebuilt the spoon, which remains a popular selfie spot for park visitors. “I think they must have climbed up on the back of the spoon and there was too much weight and it snapped and they figured ‘Oh my god, what do we do now?’ So they took it away in a pickup truck and dumped it.”

Where: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania

When: Summer, 2016

What: Rocks and twigs. These and other items pilfered from perhaps the country’s most infamous battlefield are mailed back to the park every year, often with anonymous notes from the thieves confessing their crimes and writing about the misfortunes that have befallen them as a result of their bad deeds, a blog post by Park Ranger Maria Brady. “My wife and son walked out on me. I lost my house and majority of what I owed and ended up in prison for nine years,” stated one letter mailed in May.

Where: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

When: July 2016

What: Junior Ranger supplies. Someone broke two windows at the Hidden Valley facility inside the park and made off with program materials for the young rangers.

Where: Arches National Park, Utah

When: 2004

What: A park guide: In the (fictional) detective thriller Nancy Drew: The Stolen Relic by Carolyn Keene, a park guide goes leaves a group of tourist to go investigate a strange noise – and never comes back!

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