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VFT Stolen from Alderman Park.

Thats awful! These are the sort of people that prevent carnivores from making a comeback in the wild...

Kenny
 
Oh wow this just breaks my heart :cry: . I will certainly keep my eyes out, especially on fleabay!
 
This is terrible. :cry:

I can't help but wonder, though, was there any security at all in this park? I mean one thousand plants (sorry) and no one is caught digging them up?
 
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was there any security at all in this park? I mean ten thousand plants and no one is caught digging them up?

That is the truly remarkable thing, isn't it? Think about it - how many man-hours would it take to dig and remove that many plants? Not something you can execute in fifteen minutes.
 
the article says 1000 not 10,000
 
luckily there are thousands of people growing venus flytraps who would be more than willing to donate their seeds and some of their own plants. I could probably propagate 1000 plants by myself in just a couple of years
 
Incidents like this reinforce my assertion that if limited range and/or habitat is one of the reasons a species is endangered, protection of the species in situ and the habitat in general are not enough. The fact that there are countless VFTs in captivity is the greatest insurer of the species' survival.
 
  • #11
No there is not any security at the park. I was there leading the CCPS Spring Meetup with Ozzy Saturday afternoon and there were many young children oohing and aahing at all the venus flytraps and pitcher plants. And Millipede is right they only took a little over 1,000 vfts not 10,000.
Unfortunately events like this are all too common. We also visited the famous Shaken Creek that day and there were S. purpurea pitchers cut off and strewn about everywhere with many holes all over. It is truly unfortunate that people feel the need to destroy plants like this. The next day we were in Croatan National Forest visiting one of my favorite locations for S. rubra ssp. rubra and I found a few holes where there used to be plants. It is truly unfortunate when people cannot just let nature be for all to enjoy.
 
  • #12
I suddenly have the urge to strangle...I don't think the words I wish to use are TF appropriate....:censor:
How do we end up with so many delinquent wackjobs?
 
  • #13
This makes me sick. The trouble with some other people is that they do what THEY think is best...not what WE think is best.
 
  • #14
No there is not any security at the park. I was there leading the CCPS Spring Meetup with Ozzy Saturday afternoon and there were many young children oohing and aahing at all the venus flytraps and pitcher plants. And Millipede is right they only took a little over 1,000 vfts not 10,000.

I second this. I've been going to this park for 4 years now in a row. There's no security, and I've rarely ever seen a person back there besides me and my family.
 
  • #15
I remember a story someone shared on here when some genius couple decided to dig up like 200 VFTs in North Carolina and sell them wholesale for like $0.90 each... Perhaps it is something like that again. I'll keep my eyes out for anything unusual on eBay, but I think if they're going to sell them they would do so to retailers.
 
  • #16
No there is not any security at the park. I was there leading the CCPS Spring Meetup with Ozzy Saturday afternoon and there were many young children oohing and aahing at all the venus flytraps and pitcher plants. And Millipede is right they only took a little over 1,000 vfts not 10,000.
Unfortunately events like this are all too common. We also visited the famous Shaken Creek that day and there were S. purpurea pitchers cut off and strewn about everywhere with many holes all over. It is truly unfortunate that people feel the need to destroy plants like this. The next day we were in Croatan National Forest visiting one of my favorite locations for S. rubra ssp. rubra and I found a few holes where there used to be plants. It is truly unfortunate when people cannot just let nature be for all to enjoy.

Hey Mason. This is awful from Cali, I can imagine in your own back yard. Since you have obviously spent a good deal of time there, are there any stand out variants or anything to look out for? Or were they primarily typicals? I have seen a big increase of harder to find variants being put up for sale. If you , or anyone that is familiar with the park and it's VFT's could let us know if there is anything in particular to look out for, it may help find the thieves.
 
  • #17
...It is truly unfortunate when people cannot just let nature be for all to enjoy.

I can't agree with you enough. Thankfully, we seem to be heading towards the day that nature, technology, and people finally all get along. (Key words: seem to.)
 
  • #18
I read in an article about poaching that nurseries/dealers pay poachers 25 to 75 cents. Don't know why they bother since wholesale prices from the tissue culture suppliers is around 50 cents a plant.

Poached plants like these often end up being sold on the roadside.

It appears Julia Rehder, Stanley Rehder's daughter is reaching out to dealers to be on the alert for these stolen plants. See this post on the ICPS website:

http://icps.proboards.com/thread/6428/2013-venus-flytrap-poaching

Here are a few more pieces on this theft taken from the above message:


http://www.wwaytv3.com/2013/05/30/more-1000-rare-venus-flytraps-stolen-from-wilmington-park

http://www.starnewsonline.com/artic...-hit-at-something-that-makes-our-area-special

http://www.wect.com/story/22470751/daughter-of-park-gardener-reacts-to-venus-flytrap-theft
 
  • #19
I know how it would feel to be in his daughter's shoes. Honestly after I read this I felt like a part of me was stolen.
I hope they find the moron who stoled those venus flytraps.
 
  • #20
Why were the flytraps valued at $20 each?
 
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