"This is not science fiction," warns a public service announcement from the Florida Department of Agriculture. "This is real."
The video shows a giant African land snail, an invasive species with no natural predators that lives up to nine years and can grow to eight inches long. An adult can lay as many as 1,200 eggs in a year.
One of the largest and most damaging snails on Earth, giant African land snails (GALS) first invaded southern Florida in the 1960s. An eradication program that lasted nine years and cost $1 million killed 17,000 by the end of 1975.
Then, in September of 2011, a GALS was discovered in Miami.
The massive snails feed on more than 500 species of plants, including agricultural crops. They also harvest calcium from the stucco and plaster to build their shells, damaging homes. What's more, they are known to carry a parasite known as rat lungworm, which can cause a form of meningitis in humans and animals. Specimens with the disease have been identified in Miami.
"As strange or funny as it sounds, it's a threat to human health, the environment and agriculture," said Putnam.
Driven largely by reports of sightings called in by residents to a helpline, the Department of Agriculture's latest eradication program has eliminated more than 158,600 giant snails since 2011.
The effort is also helped by the keen noses of Sierra and Bear, two Black Labradors trained to sniff out GALS. Occasionally, search teams are deployed to look for the mollusks at night, when they are more active.
The snails have been found on 670 properties in from Homestead to Hollywood, Florida, but haven't been spotted elsewhere in the state.
Cbsnews.com
Where are the Nigerians in Florida?Please export these snails to Naija ASAP!..LOL
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