The slow race to save rare snails from a tramway — one gastropod at a time

In France, this protected species, found only in Brittany and the Basque Country, is being painstakingly moved to a new home before their habitat is destroyed

Quimper snail (Elona quimperiana): the protected species is being moved by hand out of the line of a €200m public transport project in France

On a drizzly winter evening, ecologists in Brest, Brittany, are rooting through the damp undergrowth flanking an unmarked and unlit track going nowhere. They are searching for Quimper snails. It’s a slow and meticulous job: the snails are small, come out only at night and prefer the dank, dark cover of soggy leaves and twigs.

Soon, their natural habitat here will be destroyed by a €200m public transport project, which includes a new tramway.