It is very unusual because it is adapted to life in thermal springs where the water is low in oxygen and high in hydrogen sulfide, an environment too harsh for most animals to survive in.

In 1996 Parks Canada started a research and recovery program for the snail including the closure of the swimming pool at the Cave and Basin National Historic Site.

At its lowest points, the entire population of snails can fit in an ice cream cone, and at its highest, in a one-litre milk carton.

Conservation biologist Dwayne Lepitzki believes that the leading cause of the thermal springs drying up and the decline in snail population is climate change.

There is also a captive breeding program being performed, and if it is successful, the snails will be introduced back to the two additional springs where the species was historically present.