- The Partula tohiveana snail has been reclassified as critically endangered after previously being declared extinct
- The snail’s comeback is credited to a decades-long conservation program led by the Zoological Society of London
- The rare species was reintroduced in French Polynesia and have begun to breed in the wild
A tiny, rare creature is no longer extinct.
The Partula tohiveana snail has been reclassified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List after being previously declared extinct in the wild, according to a release from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). ZSL is the charity behind the London Zoo.
The peanut-sized mollusks’ comeback is credited to a decades-long conservation program led by ZSL and its partners around the world. The program’s success led to the snail’s reintroduction in French Polynesia.
“This is a landmark moment for Partula tohiveana and for decades of international conservation work,” London Zoo curator Paul Pearce-Kelly, who also leads the conservation program, said in a statement. “Seeing a species return from the brink after years of collaborative effort is exactly why we do what we do.”
He added, “Demonstrating how conservation in zoos is about so much more than maintaining insurance populations — this inspiring news shows our real-world impact and how we’re bringing some of the most vulnerable species back from the brink of extinction. As ZSL approaches its 200th anniversary next year, this is a fantastic success for our longest-running conservation project.”
The press release states that the reclassification follows the discovery of adult Partula snails born in the wild in Mo’orea.
Organizations that worked on the conversation project with London Zoo include the French Polynesian Government, the University of Cambridge, and conservationists at Bristol Zoological Society, Detroit Zoological Society, Marwell Wildlife, Poznan Zoo, Riga Zoo, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Saint Louis Zoo, Sedgwick County Zoo, Whipsnade Zoo, Wild Discovery, Woodland Park Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo and Zoo Schwerin.
ZSL started breeding the snails in the 1980s after the invasive carnivorous rosy wolf snail began to threaten the Partula tohiveana snail’s wild population.
“The dedicated program saw conservationists care for and breed the species in carefully controlled conditions at London Zoo and zoos across the globe before large numbers of snails were marked with UV reflective paint and carefully released back into their forest habitats in French Polynesia,” the release said.
Peace-Kelly noted that the program’s success speaks not only to the snails’ resilience but also to the “result of incredible international collaboration and dedication.”
Fiona Sach, ZSL’s zoo conservation impact manager, added, “It’s incredibly rewarding to see these snails not only surviving but thriving in safe wild habitat again, and it gives us real hope for the many other species we are working to bring back from extinction.”
St. Louis Zoo, a United States hub for the reintroduction program, announced the discovery of the wild-born Partula snail in September 2024.
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The 2024 reintroduction saw the release of about 6,000 snails from 10 species and sub-species of Partula snails raised at zoos worldwide. The Missouri zoo coordinated the shipment of over 3,200 snails from numerous zoos to Tahiti for the release.
St. Louis Zoo raised about 1,000 of the released snails.
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