Endangered Ts: Are there any?

Mad Hatter

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Just curious. Are there any tarantula species that are currently classified as being "endangered"?
 

Mad Hatter

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Stardust said:
hmm...are there ? :?
Hopefully not, but then I'm not sure. I know there are some that are rare and hard to get a hold of for enthusiasts, but does that mean they're endangered or just are'nt being exported any more?
 

Mad Hatter

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8 leg wonder said:
I know that B.smithi is protected if not endangered
B. Smithi?!! :eek: Better not be endangered! So what does it mean to be "protected"?
 

sojkas

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AFAIK Brachypelmas are on the CITES App. II ->means that they population in nature is shrinking, but still big enough to let trade them.
 

conway

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Poecilotheria are rare, very expensive and blimming hard to get ahold of thats the "rarest" one i know...
 

FryLock

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CITES II listed animals have there trade controlled but this does not mean they are in imminent danger of extinction, i.e. many app 2 animal are traded in huge numbers even as meat and skins i.e. Python curtus :mad:
 

Scylla

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All Brachypelma, Brachypelmides and Aphonopelma species are CITES appendix II. Are they in danger of extinction? Who knows, but I doubt it. There are probably other Theraphosids worldwide that really are, but no one has done any population/habitat studies to determine that.
 

FryLock

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Aphonopelma (Brachypelma) pallidum is there and Aphonopelma albiceps as of 1998, but has any one proved any of the Brachypelma.sp have been harmed by the pet trade Grammostola for example can be even slower growing :?
 

CIRE

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It's almost undoubtable, that with both time and human expansion, many species of tarantula have become extinct. The same can be said about now, since while we are not only exporting them and removing them from their natural habitats, we are also slowly, but surely, destorying their homes.

I may be mistaken (and correct me if I'm wrong, because I'd like to read about it) but it doesn't seem like there have been many studies on the declining/expanding population of tarantulas and the effect it has on the area in which they live. It seems that such studies and the funding for such studies is directed to the "not-so-spineless wonders"... :rolleyes:
 

8 leg wonder

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B smithi is endangered, it means they are not allowed to pull any out of the wild anyone caught with freshly wild caught speciems are looking for trouble. There is a few more CITES has a breif list of endangered T's
 

FryLock

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Im still thinking it was an guess based on the numbers being removed from the wild that lead to them being classed as threatened and listed on CITES appendix II (BTW species that are in real danger of extinction go on CITES appendix I) appendix II can still be taken from the wild (with the right paper work of course) but I believe the host country of the species in question have the final say on if permits are issued to do that.
 

Mad Hatter

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cire007 said:
It's almost undoubtable, that with both time and human expansion, many species of tarantula have become extinct. The same can be said about now, since while we are not only exporting them and removing them from their natural habitats, we are also slowly, but surely, destorying their homes.

I may be mistaken (and correct me if I'm wrong, because I'd like to read about it) but it doesn't seem like there have been many studies on the declining/expanding population of tarantulas and the effect it has on the area in which they live. It seems that such studies and the funding for such studies is directed to the "not-so-spineless wonders"... :rolleyes:
Exactly. Those organizations exist to protect the "cute and fuzzy" creatures of the wild. People have a hard time watching whales and pandas die off in numbers because of us, but when it comes to tarantulas and such I'm afraid the general feeling is "good riddance."

The sad truth is that the public is more inclined to support research for the cute animals than for tarantulas, which have quite possibly existed for millions of years. Honestly, you would think something as remarkable as that would promote some sort of interest in researching and protecting them. But it is easier to get donations if you show a picture of a baby panda on your pamphlet than if you showed a picture of what most people consider a pest.
 

Mad Hatter

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The reason I started this thread was to get information on what species are in danger so I could write a letter to some organizations and perhaps get something going to protect tarantulas. Then I’d have some info to sort of “direct” the focus on the species in need. Of course, I now realize that since there really hasn’t been any research done on the subject, there is no way to do that. Which brings to mind another important issue…

If I were to write this letter, would it really help the tarantulas or would it have an unforeseen backlash in that it might help put laws into effect that would prevent the collection of tarantulas by people like us? Actually, I really believe that (although it does have negative aspects) the collecting of species by hobbyists might be the only last resort to save tarantulas if all else fails.

Seriously, it makes me mad. Tarantulas live in a way that does not pose any kind of threat to humans, and one way or the other, we wind up intruding on their space constantly and may very well end up causing their extinction.
 

FryLock

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Great points have been made here but the only problem is once any animal beings being bred in captivity by hobbyists like are self’s quite a few things can happen that will invalidate them for use as reintroductions, one is if they have been hybridised with related species at some time including species that there range does not meet in the wild (i.e. not the kind of species mixing that COULD happen naturally) second is they may have developed disease in captivity (or from being around related animals from different parts of the world) that would infect what may remain of the wild population, zoo's and the like are very careful with the animals they use for such projects for these reasons, tho im sure the has been at least two "hobby bred" species used for reintroduction one's a beetle here in the UK one was a fish in Africa any one know more about tho's or others?
 

Scylla

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Forgive me, I misspoke. CITES listed species are as follows: All Brachypelma species, Brachypelmides klaasi, and A. albiceps and A. pallidum.
 
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