Peru's ancient spiral-tailed monkey is losing its tail. Extensive high-resolution aerial photos of the famed Nazca Lines taken by Peru's air force showed destruction Thursday that conservationists have long feared. Tire tracks and disregard for the site are irreparably scarring the mysterious lines and animal figures that a pre-Columbian civilization etched into a 56-kilometre stretch of Peru's southern desert centuries ago. In the first comprehensive aerial photos taken by Peru's government since 1973, one of the most famous animal figures, the monkey, was crisscrossed by tire tracks nearly obliterating the top of its tail. The fish and spider lines showed similar scars in the 180 photos taken last month and published in local newspapers. Denouncing the damage, Congressman Luis Gonzales said he would urge legislators to take urgent action to protect the site, which was added to the United Nations World Heritage list in 1994.

"This is extremely grave," he said. "When the photographs are presented to the international community, it will unleash a scandal because it involves human patrimony." Some of the worst damage has occurred since the death in 1998 of German mathematician Maria Reich, who at 95, had devoted five decades of her life guarding the 450-square-kilometre protected zone.

View: Full Article | Source: CTV.ca

It's sad to see marvels such as these disappear. Another relatively recent one was when the Taliban destroyed those cliff carvings (can't remember what they were called though)

Dot

I don't know what they were called, either, but they were Buddhas, and the Taliban wasn't into that sort of thing.

That's terrible. Bloody ignorant people.

ARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!........urge to kill rising! We have to preserve these ancient wonders not build over them and destroy the. We must embrace and learn from our past not destroy the reamains of our past. Hopefully now coz soooo many people know, that something will be done about it!

This is like someone destroying the Sphinx or something. I wish people weren't so damn insensitive.

Farmers in Ireland have been smashing and destroying ancient ruins on their farmland to because of their ignorance and greed.

They have miles and miles and miles of farmland, they took land which orriginally wasn't their, destroyed the ancient buildings on the land and claimed it as their own.

Don't make an ignornat comment like that unless you are aware of the facts. These people had more than enough, and they're destroying ancient culture to get more.