Justine Hausheer, science journalist for The Nature Conservancy, visited the Abel Tasman National Park to investigate the giant worm-slurping snails of Wainui. Read her report here:
“It’s a dark, rainy night in the beech forests of New Zealand. As the rain patters on the leaf litter, a slow-motion chase plays out on the forest floor. A predatory snail is on the hunt. The size of a lemon, it slides along the forest floor, leaving a glistening slime trail in its wake. It’s prey: an unsuspecting earthworm, wriggling along the snail’s path.
A pause, and the snail lunches forward, grasping the worm in its mouth and slurping it down like a long, saucy strand of spaghetti. This snail is a powelliphanta, a fantastic New Zealand endemic that few have ever seen.
“These snails are quite special because they’re carnivorous,” says Ruth Bollongino, pulling out a large plastic tupperware rattling with shells. “They’re not after the lettuce in your garden. They’re out hunting worms and other snails, and they can suck down earthworms like spaghetti.”
