TUCSON, Ariz. — Saguaro National Park rangers are asking the public's help to find those responsible for slashing and cutting down eight protected cacti in the park.
KOLD, the CBS affiliate in Tuscon, Arizona, said the slow-growing cacti were cut on or around Oct. 3.
"All plants, animals, and resources in the national park are protected," park superintendent Leah McGinnis told KOLD. "Damage to saguaro cacti is especially disheartening because they are the reason for the park's establishment."
The Arizona Daily Star reported the damaged cacti were found on the park's Scenic Trail and ranged from 1- to 10-feet in height. Photos from the park shared by both outlets show saguaros slashed, cut down or had pieces cut from them.
Saguaros "hold special significance to the people who live here," McGinnis said.
"A 10-foot cactus could easily be 100 years old, and it was killed in a senseless act of vandalism," she said, the Daily Star reported.
Park rangers are asking anyone who visited the Scenic Trail, Passey Loop Trails or the Scenic Drive Trailhead around Oct. 3 and might have more information to call the Investigative Services Branch tipline at 1-888-653-0009.
You can also send an email to nps_isb@nps.gov or submit a tip here.
The iconic saguaro cacti only grow in the Sonoran Desert and are very slow-growing. According to the National Park Service, some studies have shown saguaro only grow between 1 and 1.5 inches in the first eight years of life.
It's a common plant in the Sonoran Desert and is not considered endangered, but the biggest threat is the rapidly-expanding human population in the Tucson area.
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