Thousands of rare Partula snails, bred at Edinburgh Zoo, are set to be released into the wild in French Polynesia to help revive their population. These snails, once on the brink of extinction, were rescued in the early 1990s by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the Zoological Society of London as part of a global conservation effort.
Ahead of their journey, the group of approximately 2,500 snails were marked with yellow reflective paint, which glows under UV light, allowing conservationists to track them at night when they are most active. This follows the successful release of over 5,000 Partula snails in 2023, marking the largest reintroduction of the species to date.
Jo Elliot, curator at RZSS, expressed excitement about the reintroduction, calling it a major step toward restoring the species. “It’s thrilling to send some of our Partula snails, which we’ve been breeding for years, back to their natural environment,” she said. Elliot credited the success to the dedicated teams at Edinburgh Zoo and the wider international partnership working to ensure the initiative’s ongoing success.
This reintroduction is part of a larger collaboration between RZSS, ZSL, and 15 other zoos caring for various species of Partula snails, many of which are classified as extinct in the wild. The collected group will serve as the foundation for repopulating the islands, highlighting the important role zoos play in the recovery of endangered species.