SYDNEY (AFP).- Police in Australia are hunting a man who took a late-night tour of a closed Sydney museum, posing for selfies with a dinosaur skull before making off with a cowboy hat and a picture.

The intruder climbed up scaffolding into The Australian Museum at around 1:00 am last Sunday and went on a leisurely wander through the empty building, local police said.

"He was in there for about 40 minutes... he certainly enjoyed his night at the museum," New South Wales Police Detective Chief Inspector Sean Heaney said Friday.

Security cameras caught the man taking photos with displays, posing with his head inside the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus skull and searching cupboards.

The man eventually left the museum with the hat and a picture from a wall, officers said.

The Australian Museum has been closed since last year for renovations and police believe the refurbishment work made his entry easier.

Other museums and galleries around Australia are also closed as part of coronavirus shutdowns.

"It's very serious, we shouldn't make light of this," Heaney said, as he appealed for witnesses to help catch the man.

"We're lucky he hasn't damaged any historical artifacts or anything that is expensive in there."

© Agence France-Presse