They come back from afar. In New South Wales (Australia), a strange species of pink slug survived the huge fires that ravaged the country last December, reports the Guardian .
This species lives on Mount Kaputar. It is one of the twenty rare species of slugs and snails living in this region. However, the mountainous region has suffered the full force of the fires, with more than 18,000 hectares of ravaged land. But after heavy rains, national park employees were able to observe sixty of these fluorescent pink slugs.
Meet Triboniophorus aff. graeffei, a giant fluorescent pink slug that only lives on an extinct volcano in New South Wales, Australia
(Photo: Michael Murphy) pic.twitter.com/u5H9lohGBS
A decimated species
How did these gastropods, fond of humidity, escape the flames? By "retreating into crevices," said Frank Köhler, a shellfish specialist interviewed by the Guardian. But according to him, 90% of the species would still have died in the fires.
These pink slugs usually live in the bark of trees. They will have less trouble recovering from fires than snails, which breed less often. For the time being, Mount Kaputar National Park is still closed to visitors. The reopening is not expected until February 28.
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