18 One might describe partula nodosa as small but mighty. When fully grown, these tiny, critically endangered snails are smaller than the head of a dime. However, their environmental and cultural impact is far bigger than the shells they carry along their backs. That is why the Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) is part of a breeding and release program setting the trail to bring these invertebrates back from the brink of extinction. “Partula snails are vital to French Polynesian culture and maintaining tropic forest health,” says Erica Graber, DZS animal care staff. “Losing this species is devastating to the balance of the forest ecosystem and the history of the people living there. That’s why this program is extremely important.” The DZS has participated in a global conservation program, the Partula Programme Consortium, since 2001, which manages a captive breeding program at zoos in the United Kingdom, France and the United States. This spring, the program coordinated its largest-to-date release of partula snails to their native Papahue Valley, Tahiti. Of the 2,313 snails released into the wild, 1,449 were raised at the Detroit Zoo. Small BUT MIGHTY DZS PROGRAM HELPING BRING SNAIL POPULATIONS BACK FROM EXTINCTION
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