More than 1,300 pea-sized snails, once believed to be extinct after more than a century of no sightings, have been released into the wild.
Two species of Desertas Island land snail were rediscovered on the rocky island of Desertas Granda in the Madeira archipelago.
Following a breeding program in the UK, 1,329 snails were sent to the island of Bugio – where invasive species such as goats, mice and rats, which had almost hunted them to extinction, were removed.
Biologist Dinarte Teixeira said: “The Desertas Islands are the only place in the world where they can be found, so we are trying to do everything we can to give them the best possible chance for the future.”