Snail braves onslaught of wind and rain on pane of death

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/17/country-diary-south-uist-garlic-snail

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Staring through the window hoping to see even the possibility of a break in the weather, I suddenly realise that one of the fragments of torn leaf plastered to the window by the wind and rain is not vegetation at all but a tiny flat-shelled snail. Behind it a trail a couple of centimetres long reveals the short distance it has travelled since the last downpour. At the moment, though, it is stationary, its head slowly turning from side to side while the long eye-bearing antennae quest back and forth as if it is ascertaining its next move.

The snail couldn’t have found itself in a more exposed place, for this window is receiving the full force of the gale. Every now and then a gust strikes that is stronger than the others, causing the glass to flex. Peering closely, it is possible to see the effect these powerful gusts have on the snail, each one flinging the fragile-looking shell violently to one side. It seems a miracle that these blows do not break the suction between the snail’s foot and the glass and rip the creature from the window.

It’s only when the next shower comes lashing in, rain running down the windows as if pouring from a hose, that the snail makes any further movement. Slowly it re-orients itself until it lies not across but up and down the pane. Tentacles fully withdrawn, head facing into the streams of water, which part around it and then join again to flow on downward, it waits out the latest onslaught.

Intrigued by the tiny creature and its resilience I consult the reference books, manage to narrow down identification and find that one of the possibilities, the garlic snail, can be distinguished by the smell it emits if handled. But when the rain finally eases and I dash outside for a better look at the snail’s shell I find the tiny creature gone. Buffeted by the wind, I search the window sill and the ground beneath without success … whatever has happened the snail has disappeared without trace.