Saguaro National Park fights with the thieves of the famous cactus

In national parks, we usually look for contact with nature and beautiful landscapes, which allows you to break away from the city noise and de-stress. Unfortunately, not all visitors to these temples of nature have good intentions. The American Saguaro National Park has been convinced of this, which is the nightmare of the increasingly frequent thefts of iconic cacti.

Saguaro National Park in Arizona, famous for its great variety of cacti, decided to install hidden microchips in plants to scare away potential thieves. The park owes its name to a variety of saguaro cacti that can live for 200 years and reach over 12 meters in height.

The theft of cactus in the park can be estimated at thousands of dollars in losses. Hence, it was decided to spend $ 3,000 to mark 1000 plants with microchips, just as it does for pets: dogs and cats. Unfortunately, the devices do not allow tracking the location, they only allow to prove, after scanning, that the cactus comes from the park.

The park authorities hope that the mere awareness that the famous saguaro can be identified and proven guilty of the thief is enough to discourage some of the potential "cactus poachers".

It is not known exactly how many cacti have been stolen so far, but undoubtedly this practice has a negative impact on the park. For looters, this is a lucrative business, because when selling the price for a foot length (30.48 cm), the saguaro cactus can reach up to $ 100.