Thursday April 23, 2009, 2:09 pm
"he study shows that this irrational value conferred to unknown items only for the sake of rarity is both an asset and a threat for conservation.

It has been recently suggested that the value people place on rarity could lead to the extinction of rare species as we are willing to pay the high costs of exploiting the last individuals. Many hobbies, such as ecotourism or the keeping of exotic pets, may cause this effect, known as the anthropogenic Allee effect. However, this theory relies on the untested assumption that people do indeed value rarity."

Thursday April 23, 2009, 3:16 pm
That is scary, Dee. I hope this doesn't cause people to give up trying to save these animals because of a possible tendency to exploit more the rarer the animal is.

Thursday April 23, 2009, 8:20 pm
A very interesting and I am afraid accurate theory-when you see the activities we see everyday with these rarer creatures on the razor edge of extinction-you have to begin to see that there is sense to this.

Friday April 24, 2009, 12:17 pm
I certainly hope not..but yes..it could happen..