Page 22 - The Villager April 2021

Nature

the GlobetrottinG

Giant afriCan land snail

Is it a cute snail on steroids, or a threat to the world environment?

by JoSh trUter, PhotoS by JoSh trUter, KeN walKer aND tImUr v. voroNKov

n 1966, a kid from miami, Florida, brought three giant snails
home, smuggled in his luggage all the way from hawaii. For
Iwhatever reason, he thought they would make cool gifts for
his grandmother. Perhaps grandma was one of those ‘off the
wall’ kinds of people but this time round she was not impressed
with the new pets, so she threw them out into her garden. Seven
years later, the Florida Department of agriculture estimated there
were more than 18 000 of these exotic invasive pests in the state,
wreaking havoc on crops and causing damage to buildings. It
took them more than a decade to eradicate them, only to see a
resurgence in 2011. to date, they are still fighting the battle to
save Florida’s agricultural industry from the plague of snails.

20 • Issue 4 2021 • The Villager