LIFE-SIZE DINOS FOR SALE

The stegosaurus, almost 9m long and described as "housebroken", is selling for US$1,260 (S$1,620).

- Dodai Stewart

The adult triceratops - US$2,230. A life-size Tyrannosaurus rex - almost 12m long, 5.5m tall, "slightly used" and "well-loved" - will cost you US$2,700.

A dinosaur theme park in Leonia in New Jersey, the United States, is closing in November, and with it has come an unusual opportunity for dinosaur enthusiasts and anyone else interested in adding a bit of prehistoric panache to a boring backyard.

Thirty-one animatronic dinosaurs on display at Field Station: Dinosaurs - including some that growl and roar - are for sale.

If social media is any guide, the prospect of owning an enormous human-made dinosaur, even a used one, has captured the imaginations of people far beyond New Jersey.

Screenshots of Facebook

Marketplace posts advertising the creatures have been widely shared.

"That's a good price for a used triceratops," one person noted on the social platform X. "I have the money, but I don't have the means of getting them to Australia," wrote another.

On a recent sunny Sunday, the man behind the sale, Mr Guy Gsell, was fussing with an electrical box hidden in the brush, flipping switches. The apatosaurus was not moving as it was supposed to.

"We had rain last night, and sometimes the water gets in," said Mr Gsell, the park's president.

The apatosaurus, with its unbelievably long neck, is 22m long and 6m tall, and priced at US$2,860.

Mr Gsell has mixed emotions about selling off the dinosaurs. "It's a little sad," he said. "It really kind of feels like I'm putting a pet up for adoption."

But the park has been open for 13 years and he is ready to let it go. "Our lease was coming up and the county - for good reason - it needs a commitment. Is it going to be another five years? Is it going to be another 10 years?"