‘It’s an obsession’: one man and his family on a mission to save Europe’s glutinous snail (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 week ago by GreyShuck@feddit.uk to c/nature@feddit.uk

0 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Ian Hughes and his son, Ben, are driving through the hills of north Wales with an array of homemade animal artefacts rattling around their car: diagrams, plaster casts, hand-printed T-shirts. They finally reach Llyn Tegid – Bala Lake in English – where, knee-deep in the water, Ian brandishes two glutinous snails.

It is a mollusc the size of a fingertip. It is also one of Europe’s most endangered species, which Ian has dedicated himself to protecting. “It’s beyond passion,” he says. “It’s an obsession.”

Glutinous snails get their name for the gelatinous, golden-flecked tissue that protects their shell. Because they live in low-calcium habitats, the shell is extremely delicate, so Hughes uses a fine paintbrush to move them from one place to another.

no comments (yet)

sorted by: hot top new old

there doesn't seem to be anything here

this post was submitted on 30 May 2026

20 points (100.0% liked)

UK Nature and Environment

882 readers

47 users here now

General Instance Rules:

No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia or xenophobia.
No incitement of violence or promotion of violent ideologies.
No harassment, dogpiling or doxxing of other users.
Do not share intentionally false or misleading information.
Do not spam or abuse network features.

Community Specific Rules:

Keep posts UK-specific. There are other places on Lemmy to post articles which relate to global environmental issues (e.g. slrpnk.net). Research carried out in the UK that affects the UK as well as elsewhere is acceptable.
Keep comments in English so that they can be appropriately moderated.

Note: Our temporary logo is from The Wildlife Trusts. We are not officially associated with them.

Our current banner is a shot of Walberswick marshes, Suffolk by GreyShuck.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

GreyShuck@feddit.uk

Kim@feddit.uk