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

The partula snails have been marked with a dot of red UV-reflective paint to help monitor their progress. Photograph: ZSL

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.