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The 3.2-million-year-old human-like fossil “Lucy” (Photo: BBC)

After 3.2 million years in East Africa, one of the world’s most famous sets of fossils was quietly flown out of Ethiopia overnight for a tour of the United States that some experts say is a dangerous gamble with an irreplaceable relic.

Although the fossil known as Lucy was expected to leave the Ethiopian Natural History Museum this month, some in the nation’s capital were surprised the departure took place under cover of darkness with no fanfare Sunday.

“This is a national treasure,” Kine Arega, a 29-year-old attorney in Addis Ababa, told The Associated Press. “How come the public has no inkling about this? It’s amazing that we didn’t even get to say goodbye.”

Read full article (International Herald Tribune, August 6, 2007)
Read BBC article (August 6, 2007)