Little damage is caused to the plant as the microchip is encased and care is taken not to introduce infection,' says Steyn. To prevent hiccups, there is a back-up system of two other independent data storage facilities. All the endangered cycad species in Mpumalanga have been microchipped with us working on microchipping the rest. It is easy to understand the Parks Board's concern when one cycad species has fewer than 300 individual plants in the wild. Most cycads stolen from Mpumalanga usually find their way to Gauteng, where they are highly sought after as garden plants.
Prices can run into thousands.
The going rate, according to Erasmus, is about R50 a centimetre of the cycad's length. Contrary to the cycad's value on the blackmarket, microchipping is relatively cheap. The idea of using microchips for wildlife is not new. Game is microchipped when moved from one location to the next. Even cycads sold to the public are microchipped, enabling conservation authorities to keep tabs on permit holders.