Poached Venus Flytraps Return to North Carolina Native Soil
Venus flytraps, the rare carnivores of the plant world, are native only to areas within 100 miles of Wilmington, North Carolina. While the plant is now grown elsewhere, North Carolina is still a prime target for poachers looking to sell the plants to nurseries.
On February 5th, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission caught smugglers with 900 venus flytraps which were soon replanted by volunteers from the Nature Conservancy. A few weeks later, 1,300 more were recovered from poachers and again replanted.
The replanting is just the latest in the Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect the flytraps’ native habitat.
