U.K. zoo says greater Bermuda land snail is back from brink of extinction

Chester Zoo and partners report that reintroduced greater Bermuda land snails have established six colonies in Bermuda after captive breeding and releases following their 2014 rediscovery.

A British zoo and its partners say a tiny native snail once thought lost has been brought back from the edge of extinction. The snails were first noticed in Hamilton, Bermuda in 2014 and some were sent to Chester Zoo in the U.K. for captive breeding. Thousands were released back into Bermuda in 2019 after several years of population building. The species is unique to Bermuda and traces its lineage back over a million years. Known details: - The snails were rediscovered as a cluster moving through an alley in Hamilton in 2014. - Specimens were transferred to Chester Zoo where staff bred large numbers in specially designed pods. - Thousands of snails were released into the wild in 2019. - A study published in Oryx reported that six rewilded colonies have become established on the archipelago. - Reported threats to the snails included habitat loss, pesticide use, and predation by the invasive "wolf snail." - At one point the zoo reported housing about 60,000 snails during the recovery effort. Summary: The establishment of six colonies indicates the reintroduction effort has produced self-sustaining groups in multiple areas, though observers note the species is not guaranteed safe forever. Chester Zoo says its teams now understand how to rebuild populations more quickly, and they have shifted attention to the smaller lesser Bermuda land snail while noting that long-term recovery will be linked to broader nature regeneration efforts in Bermuda.