Researchers in upstate New York are working to rehome some tiny, rare snails. Understanding their decline could help mitigate broader climate changes.

The interrupted rocksnail was once thought to be extinct, but in 1997, the United States Geological Survey found a single specimen. The researchers located enough snails to begin breeding them in captivity, and they’ve been releasing them in the thousands in an attempt to give them a second chance at life.

Back in 2018, the Florida agriculture commissioner described these types of snails as a "triple threat" because of the potential harm to human health, the environment and agriculture.