An endangered tree, planted in a bid to save the species from extinction, has been ripped out of the ground in Perthshire by a determined thief.
A Serbian spruce, a kind of fir tree, was recently stolen from Deuchny Wood in Kinfauns.
The entrance gate lock was broken, presumably to allow access for a vehicle to transport the tree. The tree was dug up with its roots intact, suggesting that the thief planned to replant it somewhere else.
The theft of two other trees nearby was also attempted.
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) assisted with collecting the original seed that this tree was grown from. Specialist climbers went to Bosnia in 2010, to the remote valley where the native species, Picea omorika, has been unchanged since the Ice Age.
This species now only survives in five locations in the Balkan peninsula.
PKCT manages the conifer project which planted 29 Serbian spruce saplings at Deuchny Wood around six years ago in a bid to conserve this threatened species.
But so far, four separate attacks on the trees - all in the weeks leading up to Christmas - plus some natural failures, means that of the 29 planted, fewer than half survive.
Last Christmas another Serbian spruce was dug up at Larghan Park in Coupar Angus. Three years ago, five Serbian spruce saplings on Kinnoull Hill met a similar fate.
The discovery that another spruce was missing was made on December 5.
The anti-social act has saddened and mystified Doug Flint, manager of the Perthshire Big Tree Country Conifer Conservation Programme.
“It’s a frustrating loss, especially given the effort that people have made to try to secure the future of this particular endangered species. We have now taken additional measures to protect the remaining samples.
“The thefts have striking similarities and suggest that someone has intended to replant the trees or sell them on.
“If anyone has noticed an unusual tree being planted - maybe as part of some garden redesign or renovation work, we would urge them to pass on any information either to us or to the police.”
Perthshire probably has the most significant collection of these trees outside of their native range.
The Perthshire Conifer Conservation Programme is part of the International Conifer Conservation Programme, coordinated by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
One day it is hoped that material from the trees growing in Perthshire can be returned to regenerate forests in their native countries.
