"The rock there is reasonably hard so it looks like it's been hit with a hammer and pieces of the rock around the edge of the footprint have been broken away," park ranger Brian Martin told national broadcaster ABC.
"For someone to damage it intentionally, you'd have to have a rough idea of where it is because seaweed grows on the rock platform and it looks like a normal rock until you look closely and see the outline of the footprint."
The footprint, believed to be from a meat-eating megalosaurus that stood seven metres tall on two legs, was discovered in 2006.
Scientists made a silicon rubber mould of the print and decided to leave the print where it was so park visitors could see where it had been for millions of years.
"The thrill of seeing a real dinosaur footprint has been diminished with the callous act of vandalism," Mike Cleeland from the Bunurong Environment Centre said in a statement.
Broken pieces have been retrieved and Cleeland said he hopes the footprint can be restored by technicians at Museum Victoria. Rangers are investigating, in an effort to find the vandals.
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"For someone to damage it intentionally, you'd have to have a rough idea of where it is because seaweed grows on the rock platform and it looks like a normal rock until you look closely and see the outline of the footprint."
The footprint, believed to be from a meat-eating megalosaurus that stood seven metres tall on two legs, was discovered in 2006.
Scientists made a silicon rubber mould of the print and decided to leave the print where it was so park visitors could see where it had been for millions of years.
"The thrill of seeing a real dinosaur footprint has been diminished with the callous act of vandalism," Mike Cleeland from the Bunurong Environment Centre said in a statement.
Broken pieces have been retrieved and Cleeland said he hopes the footprint can be restored by technicians at Museum Victoria. Rangers are investigating, in an effort to find the vandals.
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