Some happy conservation news to kickstart your week! 💚 Over 7,000 Partula snails have recently been reintroduced to French Polynesia – the largest Partula release to date! 🐌
The annual reintroduction of the zoo-bred snails is part of a decades-long, coordinated conservation effort by several zoos to save these species from extinction. The program is led by Zoological Society of London (ZSL) conservationists, which have coordinated the release of almost 40,000 snails over the last ten years.
During the releases, the team discovered an unmarked, juvenile Partula varia – making it the first wild-born member of this reintroduced snail species to be spotted in over 30 years. This discovery is proof that the Partula species is not only surviving on their native island of Huahine, but that they are successfully breeding – a momentous milestone for the programme.
Eleven species and sub-species of the snails, reared at ZSL London Zoo, Whipsnade Zoos, Akron Zoo , Bristol Zoo Project, Detroit Zoo, Disney Animal Kingdom, Marwell Wildlife, The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Rīga ZOO, Saint Louis Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo and Zoo Schwerin were sent to be reintroduced into the wild.
📸 Images by ZSL.
