USA TODAY International Edition
Giant, hungry African snails oozing trouble in Havana
HAVANA – Giant African snails are quietly eating their way across Cuba’s capital, gobbling up leaves, flowers, bark and even bones of dead animals.
The snails, one of the world’s most invasive species, can grow up to 8 inches long and weigh a pound. Some Cubans use the snails in religious rites. And experts fear Cuban authorities won’t be able to stop the slimy menace.
“I think it’s highly improbable that the snail will be eradicated in Cuba,” said James Coupland, an entomologist in Ontario, Canada, and an authority on invasive snails.
Giant African snails can transmit disease and have damaged crops in Florida, Georgia and other states. Florida has tried several times to get rid of the snails, starting in the 1970s. Posters urging residents to report snail sightings warned: “This is not science fiction. This is real.” By June 2016, inspectors had collected and destroyed 161,960 African snails in South Florida.
“There is a good chance that the snail will be eradicated in South Florida, as that program has been very effective,” Coupland said.
But in Cuba, the creatures abound at Parque Forestal, a recreational complex in Havana. They are active at night and often burrow underground by day. Darian Ruiz, 13, uncovered several of the snails on a recent morning. “It’s coming out. Look!” he exclaimed as one snail emerged from its shell.
Some Cubans are afraid of the snails and say they’re poisonous. “That snail gives off a poison that has caused quite a few deaths in Cuba,” said Dayron Valdez, 36, a visitor to the park. Cuban biologist Antonio Vazquez said he hasn’t heard of any snail-related deaths in Cuba, but the creatures sometimes carry a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans.
Vazquez, a snail specialist at Havana’s Institute of Tropical Medicine, noted the institute first detected the African snails in January 2014, about 10 miles southeast of Havana. By September 2015, the snails had spread across 100 square miles.
African snails rapidly reproduce and have few natural enemies in Cuba, other than mice and rats. They prefer tropical climates but can endure cold and even snow. If their favorite plants aren’t around, they’ll snack on car paint and stucco, experts say.