Behind the Headlines – World Book Student
  • Search

  • Archived Stories

    • Ancient People
    • Animals
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Business & Industry
    • Civil rights
    • Conservation
    • Crime
    • Current Events
    • Current Events Game
    • Disasters
    • Economics
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Food
    • Government & Politics
    • Health
    • History
    • Holidays/Celebrations
    • Law
    • Lesson Plans
    • Literature
    • Medicine
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Natural Disasters
    • People
    • Plants
    • Prehistoric Animals & Plants
    • Race Relations
    • Recreation & Sports
    • Religion
    • Science
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Terrorism
    • Weather
    • Women
    • Working Conditions
  • Archives by Date

« Women Arrested for Joining Men at Prayer at Wailing Wall
Iran Hit by Massive Earthquake »

Attack of the Giant Snails

April 15

It may sound like a science-fiction movie, but southern Florida truly is being attacked by giant snails—giant African land snails (Achatina fulica), to be precise. The shell of these snails are commonly as large as 7 inches (18 centimeters) in length and more than twice that size in diameter. The snails are an invasive species in Florida. They are voracious plant eaters that can be harmful to agricultural crops and natural ecosystems.

Some species of land snail can become an invasive pest. (c Shutterstock)

The snails were first spotted in Florida in September 2011. Since that time, 117,000 of them have been trapped by scientists from Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Human Services. The invasion is worrisome because the snails have no natural predators to reduce their population and an individual snail is capable of laying around 1,200 eggs at a time. The giant snail also harbors a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans. Humans can contract it by eating undercooked snails or by simply handling a snail.

Florida has had a previous run-in with this snail. In 1966, a child brought in three from Hawaii. His grandmother released them  into her garden. Seven years later, the snail population had grown to 17,000. It took the state of Florida 10 years to eradicate the snails, at a cost of $1 million. Scientists have not determined how the current infestation came about.

Experts gathered in Gainesville, Florida, last week for a Giant African Land Snail Science Symposium to share information on the best methods of eradicating the pest. Florida is battling a number of other invasive species in addition to the snail, including the Burmese python and the Asian swamp eel (which is actually a fish and is not a true eel).

 

Additional World Book articles:

  • Ecology
  • Invasive species (Special report)

Tags: florida, giant snail


  • Most Popular Tags

    african americans ancient greece archaeology art australia barack obama baseball bashar al-assad basketball black history month china climate change conservation earthquake european union football france global warming isis japan language monday literature major league baseball mars mexico monster monday music mythic monday mythology nasa new york city nobel prize presidential election russia soccer space space exploration syria syrian civil war ukraine united kingdom united states vladimir putin women's history month world war ii