Earlier this month, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources set off on a mission to relocate the endangered Indigenous snails in their care.
The snails were loaded into a caravan and taken across the H-3 to the DNLR's more spacious and secure facility in Pearl City.
The trip meant that entire species of snails were being transported across the island at once.
"It was a pretty nerve-wracking experience," said David Sischo, coordinator for the Snail Extinction Prevention Program at the DLNR.
"For us, having so many precious public trust resources in vehicles at the same time, we had to basically think of every bad thing that could possibly happen and how we could mitigate that."
The DLNR lab currently rears 38 species from five islands. All are either extinct or close to extinct in the wild.
Sischo and his team are constantly taking in snails and releasing them back into the wild. Sischo calls the lab their "hospital for species."
They are looking after 8,000 snails in total.
"You can think of these as little, tiny embers of a once roaring fire of a healthy species," Sischo told The Conversation.
"Now we're just trying to keep those embers around and restart the flame."
Caring for the snails entails keeping them in special chambers, complete with misting units that mimic the moist conditions of their natural habitat.
"They're pretty high maintenance," Sischo said. "They require constant care."
The facility also protects the native snails from predators, including the carnivorous rosy wolfsnail.
The snails are now settling into their new home. In the meantime, Sischo and his team are prepared to confront climate change and other threats to the snail population.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 5, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This article was adapted for the web by Emily Tom.
