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+--- Thread: 1,329 tiny snails to be released to the wild. (/showthread.php?tid=8314)
1,329 tiny snails to be released to the wild. - Catherine - 12-28-2024
Two species of Desertas Island Land Snails were thought the be extinct. It has been over 100 years since they were seen. Then a small population was found on Desertas Grande Island, near Madeira. They were collected and taken to Chester Zoo where they have been carefully housed and fed. Their 1,329 offspring are now being released on Bugio Island, part of the island chain. They are being released in a nature reserve that has been cleared of invasive predators.
They have been marked and will be monitored carefully.
Hopefully there will be more snails to release next year,
The little snails break down organic matter and bring nutrients to the soil as well as providing food for other species.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gxqep4zk3o
They may be small, but they are very important to their ecosystem. Right now they are just being returned to one place on one of the islands.
If the project is successful they could eventually be returned to all of their natural habitat. It might be a slow process, but it would be beneficial to the whole area.
Conservation, restoration and rewilding are the work of many years, but the results are worth every effort.