Celebrated Australian author Tim Winton lashes out against ‘Insta-bogans’ after stupid act of vandalism at Cape Range National Park on WA’s Ningaloo Coast

Renowned Australian author Tim Winton was the subject of outrage after a fossilized tooth from a giant primeval shark was chiseled loose and stolen from a national park.

The megalodon tooth was removed earlier this month in Cape Range National Park, about 1,300 kilometres north of Perth on Western Australia’s Ningaloo Coast, a World Heritage site.

Winton, 64, said the news, which was confirmed by state government officials who said the perpetrator likely used a “chisel”, was disappointing but sadly not surprising.

‘People [are] “Chiseling out fossil teeth, you know, going into caves they know they’re not supposed to go into, camping wherever they want, driving their troops wherever they want,” he said the ABC.

I’ve found enough human feces in Ningaloo over the years to know that this is not an imaginary problem.

‘I don’t know if it’s just the Insta-bogans but… they’re bringing everything to Ningaloo except their common sense and their manners.’

Winton, who lives in the region and has featured it in several of his books, recently presented the ABC documentary series Ningaloo Nyinggulu, which highlighted a cave now closed to the public due to damage caused by illegal trespassers.

It is not the first time that a similar fossil has been taken from the park, with a specimen recovered from a secret site in 2018 and never recovered.

The megalodon was a prehistoric shark that could grow up to 18 meters in length and weigh 50 tons.

Caving expert Darren Brooks told the ABC Megalodon teeth could sometimes fetch thousands of dollars, but were normally worth much less and could easily be purchased online.

He said removing the teeth from their context diminished their scientific value, as most of the knowledge researchers had gained came from where the teeth were stored.

Mr Brooks also criticised the vandalism he saw in the park, including people carving graffiti into trees.

Winton said ‘Instagram’ tourists posed a major threat to the park because They think they are ‘better than the rest and that the rules don’t apply to them’.

Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions told the ABC it has stepped up efforts to protect Cape Range National Park, increasing patrols and communicating with the public.

Officials from the state of Western Australia reported that the giant tooth was removed from Cape Range National Park earlier this month

Winton said the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast was being trashed by “Insta-tourists” and he had been forced to clean up their “human waste”.

Winton is an acclaimed author of novels, children’s books and nonfiction works, and is a prominent advocate for conservation.

In 1997 he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia and has won the Miles Franklin Award four times.

His best-known works include Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music, The Turning and Breath. A number of his works have been adapted for television and film.