LOUIS TRICHARDT – An astonished Mr Anthony Spies last week brought in a giant snail which he found crossing Cilliers Street. Although rarely seen, the snail known as the Giant Land Snail turned out to be quite common to the area.

Mr Spies said that in his forty years of growing up, he has never seen a land snail that big and admits that he at first though it was a seashell. It was only after picking it up, that he saw it was alive.

Snails, belonging to the family group Molluscs is found in many habitats ranging from the tropics to polar seas, ponds, lakes and streams and mud flats that are common to the Louis Trichardt area.

The body of the snail consists of a head/foot portion and a visceral hump portion. The head/foot portion have well-developed heads, which bear a mouth and some sensory organs. Tentacles are often present.

The snail’s shell has three layers and is there for protection. The outer layer is composed of protein, while the middle layer is made up of calcium and protein. The inner layer comprises nerves.

Although the majority of snails only eat plant material, the Giant Land Snail is known to eat both plant material and dead animals. It can grow to between 13cm en 20cm and can live up to ten years. During breeding season it can lay up to 500 eggs annually. It is rarely seen during daytime as it is mostly nocturnal but comes out in the early morning after rain.