Greater Bermuda snail now thriving after decade-long effort

Conservationists bred and released more than 100,000 greater Bermuda snails after a remnant population was discovered in Hamilton in 2014, and a population assessment reports the species is now confirmed safe from extinction.

A small button-sized native snail once thought lost from Bermuda is now reported to be thriving after a decade-long conservation effort. A remnant population of the greater Bermuda snail was found in a damp alleyway in Hamilton in 2014. Chester zoo and partners bred the snails in specially designed pods and returned generations to protected wooded habitats on the islands. Authorities and scientists say the species is now established in multiple sites and has been confirmed as no longer facing extinction. Key facts: - A remnant population of Poecilozonites bermudensis was discovered in Hamilton, Bermuda, in 2014. - Captive-breeding work at Chester zoo used adapted snail husbandry and special pods to increase numbers. - The programme began with fewer than 200 snails and has released more than 100,000 individuals back to Bermuda since 2019. - Released snails have been placed in protected wooded habitats with biosecurity measures to reduce invasive predators. - A population assessment to be published in Oryx reports the species is now well established in six areas. - The species had declined from habitat loss, warming, and predation by introduced wolf snails and carnivorous flatworms. Summary: The reintroduction programme has restored the greater Bermuda snail to several protected sites and is presented as a confirmed recovery by collaborating organisations. The effort was highlighted on IUCN’s "reverse the red day," and partners say the snails contribute to ecosystem functions such as nutrient turnover and serving as prey. Chester zoo and collaborators are now applying their methods to breed a second rare native, the lesser Bermuda land snail.