Scientific Commitment
Pachystyla bicolor conservation
Once so abundant in our forests that people gathered them by the sack-full to feed livestock, Pachystyla bicolor, a snail found only in the Mascarene Islands, has nearly vanished from the wild.
Case Study
Endemic Land Snail Conservation
Already extinct in Réunion Island, this remarkable species could disappear without urgent conservation action.
Its decline has been driven by invasive alien species, pigs, rats, tenrecs and introduced carnivorous snails along with severe habitat loss. Today, less than 5% of good quality native forest remains.
But extinction is not inevitable.
At La Vanille Nature Park, a dedicated captive breeding program is giving this rare endemic species a second chance. Working alongside the National Parks and Conservation Service (NPCS) and Ebony Forest, and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, conservationists are quietly rebuilding a population that once seemed doomed.
To date, more than 800 individuals have been successfully bred and released into the wild , turning hope into reality for a species few people have ever seen.
Because even the smallest life on Earth is worth saving.
This World Wildlife Day, we celebrate the small heroes of our ecosystems and the people working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure they are not lost forever.