Jeff,

Of course they aren't as plentiful as 10yrs ago. Nothing is anymore. Keep in mind, just because an animal gets listed as CITES II, doesn't make them "rare". Virtually all chelonians are now CITES II animals. Conservationists/academia folks are funded with LARGE amounts of money to do their "research" and yet most (not all) have no idea of the population of the species they are fighting to save.

For instance, in the state of TX, Cagles Maps are now protected. This was pushed through because conservationists/academia folks would go out to the Cagles native habitat and not see any. So, they automatically "think" their numbers are declining. However, little do they know that since the waters they live in are not clear and quite cloudy, they just won't see any. These turtles will see you long before you seen them and hit the water. By the time you make it to the river, they are down deep. Does that make them rare? No. I am by no means saying that they shouldn't be protected or listed as CITES II. What I'm saying is that statements saying that an animal is "rare", is just simply not true. See my point?

Another is the Radiated Tortoise, ringed maps, yellow blotched maps, etc.....These are NOT rare in their native habitat and in fact very plentiful. Yes these species are all protected and done so by the pushing of the WWF. Heard of them? Much of the protecting of species is not just for their survival, but also a "political" issue as well.

Barry


Barry

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