MikeofBorg
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2017
- Messages
- 91
I saw some old posts about this and questions some folks had. Captive born tarantulas can easily be reintroduced to suitable habitat. They are instinctual creatures, non of their behaviors are learned like say a Whooping Crane needs to learn how to migrate back and forth from summer breeding ground to overwintering areas in the fall. However young spiders have a very high mortality rate in the wild due to predation and the environment.
Something like reintroduction of some vulnerable species could be viable if a few criteria are met:
1) Habitat has to be suitable and not so fragmented to make wild reintroduction a viable option.
2) Local government and populace needs to be educated on the benefits of the reintroduction.
3) some type of voluntary sling donation arrangement needs to be defined to the benefit of captive breeders, the reintroduction and the health of the Ts
4) Probably the hardest, a central and local location needs to found where slings can be quarantine prior to release to monitor any diseases of parasites prior to release. Ideally this would be staffed and ran by local volunteers.
5) A reintroduction site for the lings must be located where easy monitoring of the slings can take place.
6) Some slings should be raised to adulthood to reintroduce mature spiders that can begin breeding right away.
Sling donation can be up to the breeders, but a good number would be 3-5% of total viable slings. Of course this is negotiable by species due to differences in birth rates and number of eggs per sac. Also setting up a breeding project at the centralized location can remove some of the burden from breeders. However the beginning of such a local breeding project would require some initial sling and sub adult donations to get off the ground in a good way.
Just some thoughts, but something like this could easily be done if organized correctly at the local level. Some of this may require international permits due to import and export restrictions on vulnerable species. All of this can be worked out if a well thought out project is presented to the governing authorities.
Something like reintroduction of some vulnerable species could be viable if a few criteria are met:
1) Habitat has to be suitable and not so fragmented to make wild reintroduction a viable option.
2) Local government and populace needs to be educated on the benefits of the reintroduction.
3) some type of voluntary sling donation arrangement needs to be defined to the benefit of captive breeders, the reintroduction and the health of the Ts
4) Probably the hardest, a central and local location needs to found where slings can be quarantine prior to release to monitor any diseases of parasites prior to release. Ideally this would be staffed and ran by local volunteers.
5) A reintroduction site for the lings must be located where easy monitoring of the slings can take place.
6) Some slings should be raised to adulthood to reintroduce mature spiders that can begin breeding right away.
Sling donation can be up to the breeders, but a good number would be 3-5% of total viable slings. Of course this is negotiable by species due to differences in birth rates and number of eggs per sac. Also setting up a breeding project at the centralized location can remove some of the burden from breeders. However the beginning of such a local breeding project would require some initial sling and sub adult donations to get off the ground in a good way.
Just some thoughts, but something like this could easily be done if organized correctly at the local level. Some of this may require international permits due to import and export restrictions on vulnerable species. All of this can be worked out if a well thought out project is presented to the governing authorities.
