Bermuda Snail Saved from Extinction After Decade-Long Conservation Effort
A button-sized snail species, once thought to be extinct in its native Bermuda, is now flourishing following an intensive ten-year conservation initiative. The greater Bermuda snail, scientifically known as Poecilozonites bermudensis, has been successfully bred and released back into the wild, with over 100,000 individuals reintroduced to their natural habitat.
Rediscovery and Rescue Mission
This unique snail was previously only known from fossil records and was believed to have vanished from the North Atlantic archipelago. However, in 2014, a small remnant population was discovered in a damp, overgrown alleyway in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. This finding sparked an international collaboration involving conservation scientists, the government of Bermuda, and Chester Zoo in the UK.
At Chester Zoo, keepers developed specialised pods and adapted snail husbandry techniques to create optimal breeding conditions. Tamás Papp, the invertebrates assistant team manager at the zoo, expressed the significance of this achievement, stating, "It's every conservationist's dream to help save a whole species – and that's exactly what we've done. This scientific confirmation that we've saved them is testament to the role zoos can play in preventing extinction, and in the power of collaboration."
Threats and Recovery Efforts
The decline of the greater Bermuda snail was driven by multiple factors, including global heating, habitat loss, and the introduction of invasive predators such as wolf snails and carnivorous flatworms. To combat this, conservationists implemented biosecurity measures in protected wooded habitats on the islands, shielding the snails from these threats.
Since 2019, generations of captive-bred snails have been systematically released across Bermuda. A recent population assessment, set to be published in Oryx, the International Journal of Conservation, confirms that the snails are now well established in six distinct areas. This recovery has been celebrated on IUCN's "reverse the red day," highlighting global efforts to repair biodiversity loss.
Ecological Impact and Future Projects
Dr Mark Outerbridge, an ecologist for the government of Bermuda, highlighted the success of the programme, noting, "It has been extremely gratifying to be involved with this reintroduction programme and to see these snails back in Bermuda's ecosystem again. It is remarkable to think we only began with less than 200 snails and have now released over 100,000."
Dr Kristiina Ovaska of Biolinx Environmental Research in Canada emphasised the ecological importance of the snails, explaining, "The snails function both as prey for larger animals and as consumers of live and decaying vegetation, so they are vital for turning over nutrients within their habitat." This restoration plays a key role in reviving degraded ecosystems in Bermuda.
Looking ahead, the Chester Zoo team is now focusing on breeding a second rare species, the lesser Bermuda land snail (Poecilozonites circumfirmatus), aiming to replicate this conservation success and further bolster the archipelago's biodiversity.
