Chips are it for cactus crooks

TUCSON – Anyone thinking of stealing a saguaro cactus from the Arizona desert could soon be hauling off more than just a giant plant.US National Park Service officials plan to imbed microchips in Arizona’s signature plant to protect them from thieves, who rip them from the desert to sell them to landscapers, nurseries and homeowners.

The primary objective is deterrence, but the chips would also aid in tracking down and identifying stolen saguaros, said Bob Love, chief ranger at southern Arizona’s Saguaro National Park. “There’s probably more of it that occurs than we’re aware of,” Love said.Last year, 17 saguaros were dug up and stashed for transportation later.The culprits were caught, Love said.In other cases, three to five plants have been taken at a time.Saguaros are unique to the Sonoran Desert, 310 800 square kilometres covering portions of Arizona, California, and the northern Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora.They’re majestic giants that can grow to heights of 15 metres, sprout gaggles of arms and weigh several tons.They can take 50 years to flower and 70 years before sprouting an arm.And they help identify Arizona’s landscape in everything from Roadrunner cartoons to the back of the state quarter.- Nampa-AP”There’s probably more of it that occurs than we’re aware of,” Love said.Last year, 17 saguaros were dug up and stashed for transportation later.The culprits were caught, Love said.In other cases, three to five plants have been taken at a time.Saguaros are unique to the Sonoran Desert, 310 800 square kilometres covering portions of Arizona, California, and the northern Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora.They’re majestic giants that can grow to heights of 15 metres, sprout gaggles of arms and weigh several tons.They can take 50 years to flower and 70 years before sprouting an arm.And they help identify Arizona’s landscape in everything from Roadrunner cartoons to the back of the state quarter.- Nampa-AP