Got a spare velociraptor in your backyard that needs restraint? Get ready to drop some bucks, but Theme Park Connection has just the thing for you. The memorabilia company is auctioning off a genuine prop cage from the 1993 dinos-gone-wild film "Jurassic Park."
The winner may not even need his or her own raptor, since the crate comes with one. "JURASSIC PARK Velociraptor Cage Crate 1993 Original Screen Used Movie Prop 100% AUTHENTIC MOVIE PROP; INCLUDES FULL SIZE RAPTOR" reads the item's description on eBay.
Note — that's a raptor prop, not the real thing.
Over 150 bids have been entered, and the auction has been viewed over 600,000 times; at last check the top bid is nearing $100,000. The auction ends Feb. 4.
"We're finding out that there's a huge fan base in the UK for 'Jurassic Park,'" Theme Park Connection manager Brian Ramsey told TODAY, noting that most of the bids and views have come from overseas. "'Jurassic Park' memorabilia has been high value for some time; we just didn't realize we had the most important piece of all the movies."
But buyer beware: The description on the auction site warns that both raptor and cage "show significant signs of wear" and are being touted as good for an "amazing restoration project. ... These treasures will benefit from some attention and TLC."
"We bought it from a collector who'd had it on his property a while, and it had started to deteriorate," explained Ramsey, who said the buyer had the original bill of sale from the studios. "He wanted to get more props, so we purchased it from him."
The auction winner may want to make a further investment with Theme Park Connection, because once a prop raptor and prop cage are purchased, they'll need some transport. No fear: Connection also has an auction up for the mobile lab used in "The Lost World," the 1997 sequel to "Park," and at last check it's going for less than $10,000.
When it sells, the cage (with raptor) will be one of the company's biggest auctions ever, and could top the company's sale of a house that had been remodeled to look like Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.
So what does one do with a velociraptor cage? "I guess you put it in your front yard to keep grumpy neighbors away," said Ramsey. "When people ask what the raptor eats, we tell them: Misbehaving children."