Kovai climate conducive for giant snails

“The climate here favours the molluscs to reproduce faster. A snail, which weighs over 200 grams, lays up to 600 eggs at a time and almost 50 per cent of them hatch. They pose a threat to agriculture as they feed on almost all food crops,” said Dr Suganthan, a scientist from the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).

As the snails have no predators, it is a cause for concern. “They actually have their origin from East Africa. With a life span of over six years, it is difficult to keep their population under check,” he said.

In order to control the numbers, a team of scientists from KFRI has taken samples of the snails from Coimbatore to study their molecular structure. The study is also meant to understand their place of origin, any likely gene mutation they would have undergone and to find out if they have developed more resistance and strengthened their immune system.

Tracing the arrival of snails to India, researchers said that a pair of giant African snails was brought to India by William Benson, an administrator in the East India Company and left them in Kolkata in 1847.

“The snails could have spread over to Coimbatore from pest-affected mulberry seeds from Bhavani area in Erode district. They were found in the mulberry plantations in Bhavani area a few years ago,” said the scientist.

The need of the hour is to have a co-ordinated effort by various government departments to eliminate the giant snails. “It can’t be controlled overnight and it may require consistent efforts from government departments to curb the menace in the next five to six years. 

Awareness should also be created among farmers in Tamil Nadu about the damage these giant snails can cause to the crops . They also act as an intermediate host of the rat lung worm that causes eosinophilic meningitis in children,” said experts.