Snail varnish

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has been preparing thousands of extremely rare Partula snails reared at Edinburgh Zoo to be released into the wild in French Polynesia. The wildlife conservation charity has been part of a collaborative initiative, coordinated by London Zoo's Senior Curator of Invertebrates Dr. Paul Pearce-Kelly, helping to bring the species back from the brink since 1984.

Before making the 15,000km journey, the tiny nocturnal snails were individually marked by RZSS teams with a dot of yellow UV reflective paint, meaning they will glow under UV torchlight and help conservationists monitor the populations at night when they’re most active.