Crawling Back to the Wild

The California condor... the Kihansi spray toad... the Arabian oryx... the red wolf... and now... the Partula snail!  Two tiny new species have joined the roster of animals that have been driven to extinction in the wild, only to be saved in zoos, bred in sufficient numbers, and reestablished in the wild.  The Zoological Society of London, in partnership with others zoos, joined the government of French Polynesia to restore Partula rosea and Partula varia back to the wild.

Two Extinct-in-the-Wild Partula snail species returned to the wild for the first time in 25 years

Over a quarter-century ago, these pea-sized mollusks were wiped out by an invasive predatory snail species; Jeffrey Bonner's Sailing with Noah does a great job of recapping the story for anyone interested.  Making the islands safe again for these little guys helps restore the natural balance of Polynesia.  It also restores a part of the local Huahine culture; local people traditionally used the shells of the snails for jewelry, including crowns (though I would hope they are laying off that while the snails build their numbers back up).


What's happening with the Partula snails is a great reminder that zoos are one of the biggest forces for conservation in the world, and that their efforts aren't just limited to big, charismatic mammals. 


Sometimes, the smallest of species require just as much help as the largest.