Haha, there comes Fingerpaints, the saviour of hideous ponies <3

On topic, i´ve never seen anything like that but I think it´s a cool find!

Thank you so much everyone! You have been incredibly helpful ^^ and thanks for all the good wishes I´ll let you know if I have any more questions!

So, i´m doing a major project in Conservation Biology as part of my Master's and I would really appreciate your help
Namely, I have chosen to focus my conservation research on the Katipo Spider (Latrodectus katipo) that is endemic to New Zealand and I would love to hear your opinions on this species.
One of the main reasons I decided to focus on Katipo is that I want to examine the conservation status of an invertebrate as they are usually overlooked due to them not exactly being loveable. However, I did read in research papers that Katipo is considered to be somewhat of a symbol of invertebrate conservation in New Zealand and I am mainly interested to know to what degree this is correct. So some things I´d like to know ^^


Do you know of this species?
Are you aware that it is endangered?
How do you feel about the species?
Do you think it's worth saving?
Do you feel that the state is committed to the cause of preserving this species?
Have you ever seen a Katipo in person?
anything else you'd like to add?


Any answer would be highly appreciated as I don't know any New Zealanders personally and I am reluctant to rely simply on things I read online and would much prefer to get some insight directly from the people


Thanks for reading

LOL @ Saply!

I´m in no way in possession of a collection that huge but what you may do is maybe trade off a few ponies for one more valuable/rare one? or something along those lines That way the value of your collection might stay the same with fewer physical ponies ^^

Look I give up. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I was attempting to merely voice my opinion the same way everyone else was. sorry.

you shouldn't take our responses personally! They are directed to everyone here who is saying we´re overreacting ^^ not just you

But I must agree with Snapdragon. It might not be people's intention to dismiss our concerns, but that's exactly how it feels to me with all those "relax" posts.

I also wanted to add that I personally don't see anything *wrong* with being overly sensitive to these issues. It's not like most people can choose if they are going to be sensitive to something or not (I know I can't).


and I also agree with the point Mermaid made. I mean, if someone is complaining that South Park is being insensitive, that's where I go "well that's your problem, just don't watch it". That's because that show is aimed at older audience who can decide very well if they are insulted or not. FiM on the other hand is targeted at kids and while i´m against treating kids as, erm, dumber version of adults, there is still a level of innocence (if you will) expected of such a show. I would love to see a cartoon that would introduce a special needs character in such a way that promotes acceptance but it just seems that Pony isn't headed that way.

What i don't understand is why people can go on and say that everyone who gets upset over these characters is overreacting? Now while I personally don't have an issue with them I can definitely see how a girl with mismatched eyes can be sensitive to this, or even someone with slight mental disability, or their family.

It's easy for us to stand on the side and tell them they're overreacting but if it does get so many people upset, who are we to tell them they are being unreasonable. Especially if we´re talking about kids. Some kids are simply sensitive whether we think it's justified or not. simply telling them they´re overreacting isn't really gonna help anyone.

Also, I wasn't insulted by Snips and Snails when I first saw them but I did find them obnoxious as hell. Not sure I can get insulted as I´ve never met a boy/guy that acts like that so in my eyes they are simply caricatures.

Wow, I was never aware of any of this Rachel-eyes, thanks for this interesting info

Personally, I´m not bothered. I mean, she's a pony and she's BLUE! So if I can accept that, I can accept anything. However, erm, I´m obviously a hypocrite in saying all that because if they released a pony with a spider for a cutie mark (not gonna happen, but still) and it had 6 legs, I´d go and raid the HQ asking for explanations for the lack of basic research, so yeah, I guess I do understand you after all ^^