Conservationists are working to protect the glutinous snail, a species described as being as precious as an Egyptian artefact, which is now only found in Llyn Tegid, Wales' largest natural lake in Eryri National Park.
Several British zoos are setting up 'ark populations' of the mollusc, one of Europe's rarest species. These populations are being established using snails bred in a back garden in Ceredigion by conservationist Ian Hughes.
Hughes has been collecting and studying the snails from Llyn Tegid since 2014 under licence. He successfully established a captive population at his home, where eggs were spotted after four months, a breakthrough as nobody had knowingly seen their eggs before.
The Hughes family is now collaborating with the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) to relocate some of their snails to wildlife parks across England. This initiative is seen as a preliminary step towards reintroducing them into the wild in the coming years, as part of a £60m UK government-backed scheme to protect rare species.
Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent has received 24 glutinous snails, with Askham Bryan Wildlife Park, Longleat, Dudley Zoo, and Chester Zoo also participating in the project. The Freshwater Habitats Trust is currently identifying suitable water bodies for potential future release.