The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has noticed the declining population of freshwater snails only found in Arizona state and wants the creatures' habitat in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to be declared a protected area.
The agency blamed drought and groundwater pumping for the construction of the US-Mexico border wall to the draining and drying up of two springs where the Quitobaquito tryonia live, leaving the tiny snails with only one spring as refuge.
Aside from securing the snails' remaining pond, local authorities want them designated as endangered species to protect them from harm and mitigate threats to them.
While the number of Quitobaquito tryonia is dwindling, the dwelling of another snail species in Munich, Germany is teeming with shelled crawlers.
Mother of three Kris Buckley breeds African land snails, the largest of their kind, in her flat as a stress reliever and alternative livelihood so she can closely care for her two young sons.
Buckley says the demand for snails as a pet makes it a lucrative business. She sells it online for 60 euros each and earns five figures monthly.
The hobby made Buckley an expert in snail breeding in the process. Coupled with documenting each of her giant mollusks through videos on TikTok, she became the world's first snail influencer.
"I was just posting photos of my pets, and the second video I posted blew up massively. I became an influencer all of a sudden," the single mom recalls, according to Wales Online.
Buckley's snail farm is a warehouse with 5,000 snails maintained by three staff.