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Story: Snails and slugs

Relocated snails

Video file

After six months of living in a fridge, a small group of snails have been taken to a new home on the Buller Coalfield, near Westport. More than 1,500 protected Powelliphanta snails of the unique ‘Augustus’ variety were collected for relocation after their habitat on Mt Augustus was designated for mining. The video shows the scale of the operation, and the snails’ bleak habitat.

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How to cite this page

Paddy Ryan, Snails and slugs – Conservation, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/12867/relocated-snails (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Paddy Ryan, published 1 March 2009.