Monitoring of Príncipe Thrush and Ôbô Giant Snail

During the month of July, our Terrestrial Fauna Conservation team carried out monitoring rounds for the Príncipe's Thrush (Turdus xanthorhynchus) and the Ôbô Giant Snail (Archachatina bicarinata), with the aim of understanding their conservation status in order to help update the IUCN Red List database.

Some of the staff from the Príncipe Natural Park (PNP), HBD volunteers and members of the Príncipe Tourist Guides Association also took part in this event, which is carried out twice a year.

The main activities carried out included tracking, mapping and monitoring the species found, registering and analysing their behaviour, and collecting information for the database.

This time, according to the collected data, we realized there has been a decline in the number of Príncipe's Thrush and the Ôbô Giant Snail sighted, compared to the previous years, as a result of the increase in invasive species (monkeys, cats, dogs, rats and pigs) in their habitats. This is a worrying situation that requires not just our intervention, but everyone's intervention in the conservation of these species, which enrich our biodiversity.

We would like to thank the Príncipe Tourist Guides Association, the Regional Government, HBD (especially Emma) and the PNP for their collaboration and support during the monitoring.