Rare snails released into wild by DLNR after being reared at Honolulu Zoo

Amastra cylindrica snail

Waikīkī –On December 11, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) – Snail Extinction Prevention Program (SEPP) released 72 rare land snails, reared at the Honolulu Zoo, into protected habitat in the Wai‘anae Mountains on Oahu.



“The Honolulu Zoo is proud of the collaboration and strong partnership that has evolved with the DLNR Invertebrate Breeding Programs,” said Laura Debnar, Animal Specialist at the Honolulu Zoo, “In November 2017, the Honolulu Zoo partnered with the DLNR-SEPP and acquired a breeding group of rare Hawaiian land snails called Amastra cylindrica to start an insurance colony to propagate offspring for release back into the wild. We are delighted with the success of our staff in caring for, providing the delicate needs, and proper conditions for this species to reproduce at the level they are. The Honolulu Zoo is excited to expand our program with the DLNR-SEPP in saving native endemic Hawaiian species from extinction, and to educate the public about the impacts of invasive species on fragile island ecosystems.”



“They are a component of the functioning forest ecosystem, we often call them the canaries in the coal mine, because they are an indicator species,” Said David Sischo, DLNR - SEPP Coordinator. “When land snails start disappearing from a forest you know that something is out of balance, something is wrong. They are one of the first species to drop out. They’re vulnerable to a lot of different factors and so in that sense we can use them to identify a healthy forest and we can also use them to identify a forest that is experiencing detrimental impacts from invasive species or climate change. They are disappearing from some of our most remote pristine areas. This is because introduced predators have made it into these areas, causing them to decline.”



Amastra cylindrica, is a species of land snail found on O‘ahu and nowhere else in the world.



Amastra cylindrica was thought to have gone extinct in the wild in 2015. Efforts to reintroduce this species have been ongoing and involve rearing snails in captivity and releasing the offspring back into habitat protected by predator-proof fences.



Hawaiian land snails face extreme threats from introduced predators including rats, Jackson’s chameleons, and the predatory rosy wolf snail.



The Honolulu Zoo and the Department of Land and Natural Resources will continue to work together in partnership to establish this species back in the wild.



The Department of Land and Natural Resources - Snail Extinction Prevention Program works with state, federal, city and private entities to prevent the imminent extinction of the island's unique land-snail species found nowhere else on earth.

—PAU—