2013 Venus Flytrap Poaching

[FlytrapRanch]

Venus Flytrap flowering season is a prime season for poachers who want to steal the plants from their natural habitat.

Over the Memorial Day weekend in May, 2013, more than 1000 Venus Flytraps were stolen from the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden in North Carolina, U.S. This is Venus Flytrap flowering season, and the bright white flowers make the Venus Flytraps easy to spot.

Links to news stories about this poaching--

More than 1000 Rare Venus Flytraps Stolen

Daughter of Carnivorous Plant Park Gardener Reacts to Venus Flytrap Theft

Flytrap Thieves Steal Rare and Special North Carolina Plants

For those in the U.S. and Canada, please keep your eyes open for anyone selling Venus Flytraps that doesn't seem like a long-term, reputable dealer. Whoever stole these natural-growing Venus Flytraps is going to want to sell them, so be alert to suspicious dealers at Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc., and if you see something suspicious, Stanley Rehder's daughter, Julie Rehder, has asked to be notified. She'll help local police authorities in and around Wilmington, North Carolina, in the heart of the Venus Flytrap's very limited natural habitat, to try to catch this thief or thieves.

Julie Rehder

Wilmington, NC

JLRehder@aol.com

Anyone with information about the stolen plants is asked to call the Wilmington, North Carolina Police Department's non-emergency line at (910) 343-3600 or send an anonymous text at: TIP708 and the message to CRIMES (274637).

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Here is a quote from an email I received from Julie this morning (Saturday, June 1, 2013, to Steve Doonan, Flytrap Ranch, New Mexico US)

Hello Steve,

My name is Julie Rehder and I live I Wilmington, NC, native home to the Venus Flytrap. By looking at your website I can tell you are a knowledgeable and reputable dealer. I am reaching out to growers across the country to be on the lookout for a large amount of native Flytraps that were stolen from the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden, a special preserve my father cultivated that is now part of the City of Wilmington's Cross City Trail. About 1000 flowering plants were removed from the preserve over the last week seriously damaging what took about 30 years for my father to cultivate prior to his death at age 90 last October. The preserve is also home to five species of sarracenia plants as well as sundews.

The preserve was once a relatively secret bog formed from an old roadbed but when the NC Coastal Land Trust, which controls the easement, allowed the City of Wilmington to lease the space for community enjoyment but it opened up the area to more visibility and poaching. Knowledgeable poachers waited until the mature plants were in full bloom and removed them during the Memorial Day weekend. There is currently no security in the garden due to its proximity and the thieves had easy access in the dead of night. I am still pleased the City named the garden and created signage and overlooks for educational purposes but that joy is tempered by this very devastating loss. Fortunately this latest poaching event has created a community uproar and plans are being made for greater protection for the garden.

A reward will be announced soon but it is unlikely the perpetrators will be caught, especially if the plants were shipped or taken out of the area immediately after the theft. I am just trying to alert growers who may hear of advertisements for flowering native plants. You may contact me or the Wilmington, NC Police Department tip line if you hear of any online or person to person offers of sale of native flowering Venus Flytraps.

Our local community college will be aiding in replanting the area through tissue culturing and the collection of seed from the remaining plants but it will take years to restore the preserve.

I am always glad to see websites for cultured and seed grown Flytraps and enjoy knowing that the rest of the world is fascinated by my area's local treasure.

Thank you for reading this long email and good luck in your own growing efforts.

Edited June 1, 2013 by FlytrapRanch

[SoLongFairWell]

This is horrible. Such sad news to lose 90% of that species in a preservation area. I doubt the poachers will be caught so I hope that many people can donate seed to help re-colonise the preserve.

[FlytrapRanch]

I'm hopeful that the local authorities in Wilmington, North Carolina and vicinity, and throughout the small Venus Flytrap natural habitat, will install security like night-vision cameras. I suggested in the comments at one of the news-item webpages that they really need only use heightened security for a few weeks each year, that's all, during the flowering phase of the Venus Flytrap seed-setting process. It is the flowerstalks, topped with their bright white flowers, that are like flags to poachers. Most times of the year the Venus Flytraps, growing low to the ground amid higher growing grass and other plants, are hard to spot. So if the authorities could simply concentrate their security measures during the 4 or 5 weeks of active flowering each year, they could probably catch or at least get surveillance images for the majority of poachers.

[mantrid]

dont know how big the area is but covering it sufficiently with night vision cameras might be too big an expense, particularly if access can be gained from all directions, ie it isnt fenced in. maybe just a few strategically placed signs saying the area is under surveilence might deter most.

[Alexander Nijman]

I have been to that Alderman Park. Its actually an artificial made habitat fot carnivorous plants and other bogplants. And very well dopne and nice for the public to see them and learn there local native carnivorous plants. Well except of Sarracenia luecophylla wich is not from the Carolinas. I went there in early May and Dionaea and Sarracenia where to be seen there in their full glory. Its outrageous that those venusflytraps have been poached there!

But its not the only place it happens. I have also visited the Green Swamp and there I saw many venusflytraps. But then I noticed some digged up soil wich looked like that wild pigs had been active there. But then I noticed some little holes in the ground and it became clear that someone was active stealing venus flytraps! And there where also bigger holes, I stepped into one, where Sarracenias had been stolen. In the Green Swamp you get lots of Sarracenia flava variations and the most collorfull are most wanted so they get stolen. Thats very bad! Also the digged out soil was still moist and it was a hot sunny day in May. It was the 8 of May 2013. Probably the poacher was buzzy and disturbed by the presence of myself and a friend of mine. In that Green Swamp there is a trail and the carnivorous plants grow alongside of it. The venus flytraps can be seen easely, the area had been burned recently as the wire grass was flowering.

Well I saw many Dionaea there, but if that poaching is not stopped soon it may no be like that anymore in the near futur.

Maybe hidden cameratraps can be an option. And later on the way back we saw a black guy, to us he seemed to be suspecious. Well I have a picture from him here when he walked away in the opposite derection deeper into the area. Well I am happy to help the police to catch the villain or villains!

I heard that those poachers are often involved into drugs or junks. I do not know if that true or not. And its could be dangerous to hikers, you never know if they will use violations against hikers. Or maybe shoot them! Not a nice thought when you want to visit a wild area for seeing wild plants and animals. And I came all they way from the Netherlands to see them in the wild!

Alexander

[glishy]

Wow, I can't believe people would actually do this...or better yet I can't understand how they could do it. It seems like they be would be caught, but I guess not. I wonder how many of these stolen plants get sold later on..

[Adam Davis]

How about loads of us go down there with a shotgun or any gun and shoot anyone who tries to take them?

[Alexis]

Nice idea but I'm not spending life in prison with you!