Besides exploitation of the forests, another major reason for the decline of flowers in Costa Rica is people who pluck them illegally. Landkaster director Dora Emilia Retana, wearing orchid-shaped earrings, points to ten or so orchids in a box: "The more beautiful the flower, the more likely it is to be stolen. These are all orchids from people who were caught poaching them [from protected areas in the mountains].
除了森林的開墾，採花大盜的採集也造成蘭花日益稀少；園長愛蜜莉耳上戴著蘭花形的耳環，指著紙箱中十數棵的蘭花表示：「越漂亮的蘭花，越容易被盜採；這些都是被抓到非法盜採的蘭花，在法院判決後，由自然資源部送來這裡栽種。」