Hawaii's cannibal snail eradication effort backfires, threatens native species

In 1955, Hawaii released the rosy wolf snail from Florida to control the invasive giant African land snail, but the predator instead preyed on native tree snails.

The rosy wolf snail tracks slime trails, pulls snails from shells, and has pushed many of Hawaii's roughly 750 native kāhuli snail species toward extinction.

More than half of Hawaii's native tree snail species have disappeared in less than a lifetime due to the rosy wolf snail, habitat loss, and rat predation.

The Snail Extinction Prevention Program run by Hawaii's DLNR operates a snail emergency room near Honolulu that houses 40 species, some existing only in captivity.

Conservationists use predator-proof fences and captive breeding to protect remaining snails, but the outlook remains uncertain.