Army biologists released today 300 kahuli tree snails into the heart of Oahu’s Waianae Mountains to help the endangered species. 

U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii says the snails were released today into an enclosure about the size of a basketball court. The new snail home is designed to keep out kahuli predators like the rosy wolf snail, Jackson chameleons, rats and mice. 

The snails have spent the past two years at a University of Hawaii laboratory while the enclosure was built. 

Army staff built the enclosure with the help of state and federal agencies and conservation specialists from New Zealand.