Comparing Woolemi Pines to Rough Scaled Pythons

[herptrader]

This is just an observation but with Woolemi Pines now being offered to the public I found myself comparing them to RSP's which have also recently been available to members the public (albeit rich ones ;-) )

The first Woolemi pines are being made available to the public in the next year or so I am struck by the differences in attitudes that abound to newly discovered rare plants and animals.

The Woolemi Pine was discovered just on 10 years ago and was rare - the population was just about 20 plants. So what do the authorities do? They cultivate them so they can be conserved... and whats more they organise to ship them to the far corners of the world in an attempt to ensure maximal protection of the species.

See http://www.wollemipine.com/ for details.

Some would claim the same has happened with RSP's, (presumed to be) one of the world's and to the extent that some have been made available to the public and some have made their way overseas.

I suppose the main difference is the level of interest in plants as opposed to pythons??

 

[Sdaji]

I suppose the main difference is the level of interest in plants as opposed to pythons??

Which are you saying has more interest? There is a massive interest in both. A few years ago the pines would have been worth a heap more than rough scaled pythons and the demand was huge. Plants are much easier to reproduce in mass quantities than reptiles, so before too long they'll just be another novelty plant to buy at the local nursery, much like Ginkgo biloba, which was in a similar category to the pines, but now are planted all over the place, we have heaps of them on campus here at Melbourne uni. Rough scaled pythons will be highly sought after for a fair while longer, but eventually both will be readily and cheaply available to anyone who wants them. It's a shame more pythons aren't being collected and it's a great shame that no Australian chondros, Oenpellies, western olive pythons etc etc are being collected (legally). Frustrating to think about it when on the other hand your local hero can kill as many as he likes with a stick, shovel or poorly tuned banjo.

 

[Moclobe]

The most obvious difference is that you don't need to remove the plants from the wild to propagate them for the domestic market. There is no threat to the wild population unlike removing animals for the sake of the domestic market.