Polynesian snails release is biggest ever of ‘extinct in the wild’ species

Misguided introduction of alien predator saw partula snails driven from their habitat – but zoos have reared new populations

When French Polynesia was overrun by the invasive African giant land snail, another alien species, the predatory rosy wolf snail, was introduced to solve the problem.

Unfortunately the rosy wolf snail devoured tiny, endemic partula snails instead, hunting down the scent of their slime trails at three times the speed of a normal snail.