Some believe the duckbill – the sandstone rock formation at Cape Kiwanda state natural area on the Oregon coast – has existed since at least the early 1900s, withstanding sand storms, torrential downpours and countless yoga-posing tourists standing on it for an Instagram shot.
But last week, the 7ft-by-10ft rock, which overlooked the ocean, crumbled when a group of vandals pushed the rock until it toppled.
“We know the park erodes and its features don’t last forever,” said Chris Havel, with the Oregon state parks and recreation department. “The point of the park is we get to witness it change and enjoy it – but the human’s role doesn’t involve forcing the change.”
The rock formations can take thousands of years to develop naturally, Havel said, and thousands of years to naturally fall apart. Initially, the parks department assumed that’s what happened.
Until a video surfaced.
David Kalas told the Oregonian newspaper that he began filming when he noticed a group pushing the rock, causing it to sway. His video shows the group pushing the rock; once it topples, one of them yells, “Got him.”
After the destruction, Kalas said, he approached the group, who told him that a friend had injured himself on the rock and called it a “safety hazard”.
The beach below the landmark rock is a popular spot on the Oregon coast. There are tide pools, surfers and dory beach fisherman who use the area as a launching pad.
“It’s one of those places that symbolizes everything that is wonderful about the Oregon coast,” Havel said.
Andrew Reasor, who works at the local brewery on the beach, said locals’ heartbreak at the news turned to outrage when they discovered the destruction was intentional.
“It’s been a beautiful part of our area and for out-of-towners to destroy that, something that has been here a while … it makes me sad,” he said, adding that the locals sponsor beach cleanups regularly and take pride in the region.
The police have not identified the alleged vandals.
The cliff edges near the rock are considered unstable and there’s been a sign prohibiting people from getting near the popular rock for years, Havel said. At least six people have died in a two-year period.
Havel is hoping the duckbill rock, also called the Pacific north-west rock or the pedestal rock, serves as a reminder to treat public property and the natural landscape with respect.
Even those who bypassed the fenced-off area to strike the tree pose on the rock, Havel said, “hastened the rock’s demise”.
People on social media are honoring the rock with the hashtag #ripthepnwrock.
