Sir David’s shark tooth gift for George makes Maltese cross
Island demands return of relic Attenborough dug up in 1960s
PRINCE George was clearly delighted when he was given a prehistoric shark tooth by Sir David Attenborough.
But not everyone appears to be quite so thrilled by the present that was handed to the sevenyear-old future king.
Malta’s culture minister Jose Herrera was yesterday said to be looking into whether the fossilised tooth should be returned to the island, where Sir David found it more than half a century ago. The veteran naturalist discovered the tooth – from a giant extinct shark known as megalodon – during a family holiday to Malta in the late 1960s.
Asked if there were plans to add the fossil to the nation’s heritage collection, Mr Herrera said he would ‘get the ball rolling’. He added: ‘There are some artefacts that are important to Maltese natural heritage and which ended up abroad and deserve to be retrieved.
‘We rightly give a lot of attention to historical and artistic artefacts. However, it is not always the case with our natural history. I am determined to ÷THE direct a change in this attitude.’ Fossils reportedly fall under the definition of cultural heritage as a ‘moveable or immovable object of geological importance’ and, in line with the provisions of Malta’s Cultural Heritage Act 2002, their removal or excavation is now expressly forbidden.
Sir David, 94, gave the tooth to dinosaur fan George after attending a private viewing of the broadcaster’s new environmental documentary, A Life On Our Planet, with the Duke of Cambridge in the grounds of Kensington Palace last week.
Neither Kensington Palace nor Sir David commented yesterday on what Mr Herrera reportedly said. But experts say megalodon teeth are not particularly rare fossils and are found in many locations around the world.
Photographs of George looking intrigued by the shark tooth, along with sister Princess Charlotte, five, two-year-old brother Prince Louis and their parents were released over the weekend.
The tooth is from a Carcharocles megalodon, an enormous shark that could grow to more than 50ft long – more than twice the size of a great white shark – and lived up to 23million years ago. The tooth was found in Malta embedded in soft yellow limestone.
Sir David said he gave it to George because ‘ when I was his age, I remember being given fossils by a grown-up, so I thought I would do the same’.
All three of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children are interested in dinosaurs and a palace aide said they ‘are massive fans of Sir David’, whom they were meeting for the first time. The word megalodon derives from Greek, meaning ‘giant tooth’. Megalodons had 276 teeth in five rows.
The website fossilera.com lists many examples of megalodon teeth found in America and Indonesia that are sold for prices usually ranging from around £70 to £1,000 depending on their size.
It adds: ‘Fossil megalodon teeth are relatively common fossils in many areas of the world. Like other sharks the megalodon lost its teeth as it grew, they became worn or broken. Their teeth also were very solid and fossilized quite easily.
‘While megalodon teeth in general can be quite common, large or exceptionally well preserved specimens can be very rare.
‘For example 7in [17.8cm] megalodon teeth are so rare, the last one sold for nearly $ 50,000 [£39,000], while small or broken teeth can be quite inexpensive.’
Malta was a British colony until 1964. The Queen, who lived there with Prince Philip between 1949 and 1951 when he was based on the island as a naval officer, remained its head of state until 1974 when Malta became a republic.
Sir David made headlines last week after saying that eating freerange meat is ‘middle-class hypocrisy’ despite admitting to occasionally enjoying it himself. The veteran broadcaster said his conscience ‘troubles’ him when he eats fish and chicken because of the damage it is doing to the planet.