Nicolas Cage Buys Dinosaur Skull

Nicolas Cage is not one of those actors who’s known for living a classically normal life. Sometimes his choices in his personal life are just as strange as his acting choices. This is one of those moments, as it’s been reported that Cage has purchased a dinosaur skull that may or may not have been imported illegally.

Where do we start? The story is that Cage bought the dinosaur skull from an auction, and while we’re aware that this fact is odd all by itself, there’s more. Add in the fact that Cage’s dinosaur skull might have been stolen from Mongolia and illegally imported, and we have a true Nicolas Cage story in the making. According to UK’s Telegraph if Cage’s dinosaur skull was indeed illegally imported the government may have to take it away from him — bummer.

It’s being reported that the purchase by Nicolas Cage happened in 2007, and that he paid a whopping $276,000 for the skull, which was a higher bid than Leonardo DiCpario, who also wanted the fossil. The fossil is believed to be about 67 million-years-old but that still doesn’t explain why Nicolas Cage would want a Tyrannosaurus bataar skull in his position.

If Nicolas Cage’s purchase is from 2007, then why is this making the news? It appears that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division are on the move to investigate the business brought in by American Eric Prokopi.

Prokopi pleaded guilty last year when he was caught stealing fossils from China and Mongolia. Nicolas Cage apparently purchased his fossil from the collection that Prokopi brought with him. If Cage’s particular fossil was part of the collection that was illegally obtained, U.S. Immigration can and probably will seize Cage’s dinosaur skull. So far there’s no word on whether or not Cage’s money would be returned, but we’re guessing he would be able to make a deal with someone if he loses his beloved dinosaur skull.

It’s strange that Nicolas Cage is at the center of this scandal, but then again that’s what happens when an actor decides to pick up an eccentric hobby. In addition to animals and cars, Cage also collects comic books. We’re thinking he may go back to just collecting comic books in the near future.