Putting tarantulas back in the wild?

[MadTitan]

Are there any programs to reintroduce tarantulas back into the wild?

I can see how it would be a useless gesture in cases where habitat is disappearing. If a certain species was being over-collected, you'd be just as well to give directly to the people gathering them up.

Is this even a viable course of action? Have any studies been done? I imagine adding back too many would have negative effects also. I imagine raising slings up to a size where the chances of survival are better and then repopulating an area.

Some animals can't be put back in the wild after having been captive raised, but I wouldn't think this would be a problem with tarantulas.

 

[Merfolk]

Hard to do in reality. Some authorities might even block you because they actually like the idea that some scary animals are extinct and their reintroduction would scare tourists. I remember being told about the jamaican government, being very at ease with the extinction of a specie of snake and forbidding plans to reintroduce it, or the farmers in Norway campaigning against wolves being reintroduced.

Also, some species are very locality sensitive, like Xenesthis and Grammostola (because of the color morphs), you cannot just dump an individual anywhere because it won't be able to breed.

A thing that could be done is to send the spiders to those who buy them from WC collectors so they'll sell those instead of buying specimens taken out of the wild.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

Some animals can't be put back in the wild after having been captive raised, but I wouldn't think this would be a problem with tarantulas.

It's not always because of instincts. For instance, animals living in captivity are exposed to things that wild populations are not.

Example: If your captive-bred whatever happens to be carrying something contagious it picked up from eating pet store crickets, and you dump it back in the wild...well, that could end badly.

A similar situation involves the clawed frog. People releasing their pets has spread huge amounts of contagious fungus that's killed off entire amphibian species all over the world.

EDIT: http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...y-have-spawned-deadly-frog-fungus-465524.html

 

[barabootom]

I think it would be unwise to reintroduce tarantulas into the wild population unless the wild population is in extreme danger. In the wild the gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity. So lots of sacs means lots of genes, but if we reintroduce T's that have been inbred many times, the wild gene mix could become unbalanced because too many slings from one gene pool would survive. Releasing tarantulas might do more harm than good except in extreme cases.

 

[US Arachnids]

I think it would be unwise to reintroduce tarantulas into the wild population unless the wild population is in extreme danger. In the wild the gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity. So lots of sacs means lots of genes, but if we reintroduce T's that have been inbred many times, the wild gene mix could become unbalanced because too many slings from one gene pool would survive. Releasing tarantulas might do more harm than good except in extreme cases.

Who's to say that tarantulas: gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity? Is that a stated fact or something your assuming?, IF thats a stated fact then I would love to see where that fact is stated. besides alot of times tarantulas are illegally exported so why NOT illegally Import them

 

[gvfarns]

Why all the bold font?

 

[bliss]

Who's to say that tarantulas: gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity? Is that a stated fact or something your assuming?, IF thats a stated fact then I would love to see where that fact is stated. besides alot of times tarantulas are illegally exported so why NOT illegally Import them

spiders8by2,

i think you are missing the point. now think... if you are in the wild, and you are 5" big, and you have a ton of predators that could easily take you down... you are going to want to have a sac filled with lots of babies, because that would help to ensure the survival of your species

not every sling that comes from a sac survives, due to predation, or death from natural things (such as a rainstorm might drown a sling out in the wild). therefore, gene mix IS substantial, it HAS to be. Gene recombination is what does this. in every sac, you'll have the ones that are very fit, and ones that aren't fit and usually die because they were weak. that's why few survive, and many die. if they all were exactly alike, they'd all die of the same illness, defect, etc etc. OR they'd all live. and that isn't the case, as you always have t's from the same sac that are very healthy, then ones that never make it past 2nd instar (in the wild, at least).

therefore Gene mix IS substantial. is has to be, or else there wouldn't be different bloodlines in the first place

and what does illegal importing have to do with this? absolutely nothing. it's illegal. and you could possibly get into big trouble by doing so.

just my 2cents

-dan-

 

[fang333999]

spiders8by2,

i think you are missing the point. now think... if you are in the wild, and you are 5" big, and you have a ton of predators that could easily take you down... you are going to want to have a sac filled with lots of babies, because that would help to ensure the survival of your species

not every sling that comes from a sac survives, due to predation, or death from natural things (such as a rainstorm might drown a sling out in the wild). therefore, gene mix IS substantial, it HAS to be. Gene recombination is what does this. in every sac, you'll have the ones that are very fit, and ones that aren't fit and usually die because they were weak. that's why few survive, and many die. if they all were exactly alike, they'd all die of the same illness, defect, etc etc. therefore Gene mix IS substantial. is has to be, or else there wouldn't be different bloodlines in the first place

and what does illegal importing have to do with this? absolutely nothing. it's illegal too, so if ya wanna import, go ahead, but your looking at a lot of trouble if caught.

just my 2cents

-dan-

........true dat , but bliss does have a huuuge point

 

[Mushroom Spore]

besides alot of times tarantulas are illegally exported so why NOT illegally Import them

How about because it's freaking illegal?

 

[Tuwin]

so why NOT illegally Import them

I think you answered your own question there

 

[Potemkin]

I think it would be unwise to reintroduce tarantulas into the wild population unless the wild population is in extreme danger. In the wild the gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity. So lots of sacs means lots of genes, but if we reintroduce T's that have been inbred many times, the wild gene mix could become unbalanced because too many slings from one gene pool would survive. Releasing tarantulas might do more harm than good except in extreme cases.

I don't know about that, the only danger from inbreeding is the presence of certain recessive alleles becoming homozygotes. If there was a selection pressure in the wild that originally removed the homozygotes' recessive genes, the same pressure should remove the homozygotes in short order.

I think the biggest issue with reintroducing captive populations into the wild would be geographic morphs and the introduction of pathogens. Both of these should be enough for any reasonable person to discount para-dropping their pet spiders into the rainforest.

 

[MadTitan]

There seems to be an assumption that I, personally, am looking to do this.

I was more asking about a naturalist/scientist run type program, not a hobbyist effort. Something a hobbyist might support or get involved in. Something with actual research behind it.

I didn't really expect anything of the sort.

 

[Shagrath666]

Who's to say that tarantulas: gene mix is substantial because most slings from a sac never reach maturity? Is that a stated fact or something your assuming?

Read the taranula keepers guide second edition, it is stated many times on this site that it is like a bible. the author states
"An adult female may produce an eggsac every year for fifteen years...hold(ing) 500-1000 spiderlings...the population changes little over decades. because they are ambushed by predators, annihilated by natural forces, or simply not strong enough to survive under the best circumstances" (Schultz, 104)
That is just nature, and to do anything else, ie reintroduce tarantulas, would be risking an ecosystem. It should only be done if a population is nearly extinct worldwide. Much like you dont put your guppies you bred back into the wild, it risks the natural evolution of the gene pool.

 

[Sooner]

Are you planning on releasing them in Washington?

:? I don't think there are any wild tarantulas there...because then, you'll be introducing a new species in Washington.

 

[Scott C.]

If you want to do that just go to the wild, and promote breeding while hindering predation, instead.

 

[reverendsterlin]

I do think reintroduction should be used just as zoos and other institutions do already and with the same restrictions especially where natural environmental disasters have caused the problem. Habitat destruction is the bigger problem and stopping that is more important, we quit screwing it up and 'most' populations will recover on their own. However from the keepers aspect we should breed and market to stop the need for wild collecting for the pet trade, I have been really thinking of getting a young friend I know into breeding 'Carlsbad Green' both to get the interest higher for you NW keepers and to possibly slow the collecting a touch, I took two last year but found one guy with 60 MF :wall:
Rev

 

[MadTitan]

Are you planning on releasing them in Washington

You are correct that there are no tarantulas native to Washington. I am planning to release tropical and desert species into western Washington, so I can observe them go to their cold and sodden deaths. I was thinking February would be the best time. There's a good cold snap that comes through about then.

I firmly believe that this will revitalize tarantula populations around the world.

You caught me.

You also skipped parts of this thread, or you would have seen that I wasn't planning to do this at all.

Okay, I admit it, that was snarky and inefficient. A simple, "No." would have sufficed.

I am not attempting to take on such a project myself. What I AM trying to do is find out about the feasibility and/or existence of a program that releases tarantulas back into their native habitat. And the kind of answers I'm looking for are, "Yes, what kind of noob are you? The International Wildlife Conservation GroupTM has scientist heading up just such a project. Everyone knows that." OR "There isn't anything like that because the re-introduction of native tarantulas doesn't solve any of the current endangerment problems".

 

[MadTitan]

If you want to do that just go to the wild, and promote breeding while hindering predation, instead.

What do you mean by "promote breeding"? How would that be done?

Wine and candles? I joke, but seriously, how does one promote breeding in the wild?

 

[MadTitan]

However from the keepers aspect we should breed and market to stop the need for wild collecting for the pet trade Rev

Something I've been wondering, is how cheaply would you have to sell 3"-5" spiders to beat or meet the prices offered to pet stores by wild collectors? I say 3"-5" because I think most people going to get a tarantula from a pet store want a "big spider". (as an aside, has anyone noticed a drop in the size of the average tarantula in pet stores in the last few years?)

I know labor is a lot cheaper in Chile. A.avic is the other species I commonly see in pet stores, and I'd imagine labor is pretty cheap in South America, Costa Rica to Brazil, and the southern Caribbean.

Towards this end, if I was looking for a docile, bullet-proof, fast growing tarantula, what are the candidates? It seems like fast growing and docile are opposing traits in tarantulas.

But, someone has to have thought of this before me. I'm thinking it must not be financially viable. I think I will send out a few emails to the big chain stores anyway.

This is away from the topic of putting tarantulas back in the wild and towards the related topic of keeping existing tarantulas in the wild, but I'm not sure it merits it's own thread, so I'll keep it here for now.

 

[Scott C.]

Same as you would do tinkering with the spiders in your back yard... introduce males... feed the hell out of 'em(local w/c fauna, or baited local fauna).

One step further would be to protect bred females from predation. Screening that allows prey items entry may do the trick, same as they do for baby trees in reforested areas.

I've never done it with T's, but widows, steatoda sp., and what I call shrub funnel spiders, are examples of critters that are all running rampant due extra food, the elimination of pesticide use, the elimination of human predation, and male introduction... I live in the city though so I care not what effects the increased spider population may have. There is no natural balance to be maintained just concrete, pest bugs, and people who squish everything with more than 4 legs.... I suppose doing so outside city lines may harm other sp. unless the area you're doing it in is known to have diminishing populations.