Thank a snail!

  I have been known to sit for hours watching a critter as it moves about the Bayou.  I figure that we can all learn a thing or two about survival or just life in general by watching our animal neighbors.  Most of them have this survival thing down pat which is something most humans nowadays do not.  We have become so dependent on the comforts in our lives that if ever faced with a need to depend on our survival tactics, a good many of us would fail miserably.  Only a handful would know how to forage for food or even know what could be used as food.  Finding a suitable shelter would be totally out of the question.  In other words, a good many folks would succumb to the elements of nature.   All of this talk of survival, foraging and seeking shelter came about simply because I spied a snail.  Yep, a snail.  Now there is a grand example of survival if there ever was one!  A lowly snail could teach us all a thing or two.

   First, about that suitable shelter.  The Marsh Periwinkle (snail in question) carries its shelter about on its back like most other snails.  It is always ready to face any inclement weather conditions and even a lot of would be predators. The snail can even pull back into its shell to ride out a drought!  Now I am not saying that you should hike about with your house on your back but at least have enough foresight to check the weather.  If it is to turn for the worse, dress appropriately!  As for the food foraging, that snail has it together!  It usually feeds upon algae which is good since that seems to never be in short supply.  However, the Marsh Periwinkle has learned to farm!  Small grooves are cut in cord grass and filled with the snail's excrement.  Fungus that grows on the grass is fertilized by this and provides a ready source of meals for the periwinkle. Smart thinking for a mollusk with a wee, little brain!  A ready source of food, a sturdy shelter and protection from predators give the snail an advantage over most humans when it comes to survival in the wild. (As matter of fact, given a bit of water now and again, this same snail could probably survive in our cushy homes as well! Maybe not happily but it could survive.)

  But all this talk of immediate survival is not really what my point is.  The Marsh Periwinkle might just be able to help the entire world survive.  They seem to be highly sensitive to toxic agents.  This sensitivity has led them to be used as test subjects for toxicology studies.  These tests could possibly lead to cleaner water and marshes which would be a boon to all of us. Our lives are dependent on having clean water so this is a step in the right direction.  That said...the next time you see a snail, watch it for a while and think of all that the little critter does.  Then, thank it for being your friend for somewhere down the line, your very life may depend on that gastropod with the wee, little brain.