I wanted to post an update on the situation. I’ll link an update observation below, but basically it looks like the individuals haven’t been back to the area. I’m sure they know because of the observation I posted to iNat.
I took my bike back over there a few times to look around and saw no new tape or other seed collection method reapplied. Most of the pods were able to mature to let their seed fly away. It seems that park rangers have made visits as well as I saw signage posted in the area.
I’ve also flagged the species a few days ago and described what was going on in the comment. I mentioned the iNat account associated with one of the individuals, this was not a regular user or contributor. I went to block the profile so they couldn’t view any more of my observations, and I saw the account had previously gotten suspended so I wonder what they got up to for that to happen. I’m glad some other user noticed something off with that account.
At least this area is okay for now, but I’m sure they’re just going to go to other areas and I’ve told land stewards and people I know in conservation that this is happening.
A few months ago I was listening to a podcast by Jordan Harbinger and he had a guest speaker on Rachel Nuwer who had talked about this. She mentioned some people will go out of their way to eat something because it is so rare, or eat something endangered due to some perceived medicinal property it has. She also mentioned how herp collectors will go to newly published scientific journals to find newly discovered species to “collect”.
Poaching is a nuanced topic, because it can be bad at first, and then good in the end. As you said, when a new species is described, collectors often target it for the pet trade because they can get a lot of money for this new and rare species.
At first, most of them die in captivity, since the new species’ diet, humidity, and other deli cupper needs aren’t known. Over time, dedicated keepers crack the code, and they breed tons of them.
At this point, the captive strain is hardier, easier to keep, often more attractive (bred for colours), cheaper, and more available than the wild-caught ones, which reduces pressure on wild populations.
Sometimes, the original habitat gets completely destroyed, so the species only exists in captivity, thanks to the initial poaching. Without the poaching, the species would have been lost forever.
So whether poaching is good or bad isn’t always straightforward. It’s a reminder that everyone who cares about nature should work together towards our common goals. Poachers, reptile keepers, wildlife biologists, land managers, etc. We can combine our resources and our passion to protect the species that we love, both in the wild, and in captivity.
I used to go to herp meetings, and I remember a famous herpetologist telling me that “we are paleontologists in training”. He was expressing frustration with the scientific world documenting species declines, but doing nothing to prevent it. Poachers are doing something!