Pea-sized snails thought to be extinct 100 years ago sent to re-populate island

More than 1,300 pea-sized snails, once believed to have gone extinct after no sightings were recorded for more than a century, have been released into the wild.

Two species of the Desertas Island land snail were rediscovered on the rocky island of Desertas Granda in the Madeira archipelago.

Following a breeding programme in the UK, 1,329 snails were sent to Bugio Island – where invasive species such as goats, mice and rats, which almost hunted them to extinction, have been removed.

Biologist Dinarte Teixeira said: “The Desertas islands are the only place in the world where they can be found and so we’re striving to do everything we can to give them the best possible chance for the future.”