Snails once thought extinct now thriving on Norfolk Island

The discovery of neonate (baby) Campbell’s keeled-glass snails proves the group of captive-bred snails are breeding after being released into Norfolk Island NP. A group of critically-endangered snails returned to the wild on Norfolk Island last year are not only surviving, but reproducing.

Last year saw Australia’s first large-scale snail translocation, with the release of 340 critically endangered Campbell’s keeled glass-snails onto Norfolk Island National Park.

Now, surveys have revealed the presence of neonate (baby) snails at the release site, indicating the zoo-bred snails are now reproducing. It’s hoped these offspring will help establish a self-sustaining, wild-born population at the site.

The species was officially listed as extinct until it was rediscovered in 2020, prompting the creation of the country’s first snail captive-breeding program at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo in 2021.

Beginning with just 46 founding snails, the program expanded and successfully bred 800 individuals. In June last year more than 600 snails were flown to Norfolk Island. After a quarantine period, 340 snails were tagged and released into the national park.