Daniel Bennett has told Times Higher Education magazine that he had
collected the dung in the Philippines while studying the rare butaan lizard,
a relative of the Komodo dragon. The material was to be studied as part of
his doctoral research.
Bennett said the 77-pound bag was thrown away by cleaners at his lab at
Leeds University in northern England. He says the dung represented seven
years' worth of field work, and its loss "left me reeling."
The university said Friday it had apologized.
Bennett says he rejected the university's compensation offer of 500
pounds ($750) and will "see them in court."
