Kerala - Kochi   

West Kochi loses sleep over Giant African snails

– Photo: Vipinchandran

Unwelcome visitors: A student of Cochin College displaying Giant African snails collected from the West Kochi area.

KOCHI: Giant African snails are here, there and everywhere — eating into the peace of mind and the vegetation of West Kochi. Though moving at their own pace, they are steadily multiplying, spreading, and presenting the local residents a creepy feeling all along.

It feeds on anything edible that comes in its way. From neem leaves to flowers and coconut leaves, they feed on everything green. They also crawl up the coconut trees and papaya trees in the area. A large number of these snails can also be spotted all along the walls of buildings at Thangal Nagar in Palluruthy and Koovapadam in Mattancherry.

Some snails crawl into pipelines and block the drain pipes of wash basins. It is mostly in damp areas that they are thriving. How they made their way to West Kochi area is still unknown.

The teachers of the Zoology Department of Cochin College identified the species as Achatina fulica. These snails have cone-shaped brown shell with seven to nine whorls. The whorls are brown in colour with irregular darker streaks running across them, said K.J. Antonia Roseline, a teacher of the department.

The snails, which are also grown as pets, can grow up to the size of the palm of an adult.

The species are also known for their survival techniques like its ability to go into hibernation for two to three years. As the animal is a hermaphrodite, they multiply fast posing serious threat to environment, according to available information.

The snail poses health risks to human beings as it can also act as the intermediate host for a rat parasite which causes meningitis. The parasites reach human beings when snail mucous comes into contact with human mucous membranes in eyes, nose and mouth. It lays up to 1,200 eggs a year. The easiest way to control the snails is to sprinkle salt over them. Other measures such as introduction of natural predators of the snail may not be viable, said Dr. Roseline.

The students and teachers of the department, led by A.K. Prema, Head of the Department, was planning to undertake a snail eradication programme to protect the residents of the area and its vegetation. The team also planned to submit a project to the National Environment Awareness Campaign under the Ministry for Environment and Forest for the eradication of the snails from the area.

The college authorities had earlier destroyed large number of snails. A programme to educate the residents of the area about the health risk and eradication methods will also be undertaken, she said.

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