Overview
- Conservation groups warned on Sunday that the Badischer Riesenregenwurm, a very large earthworm found only in the Südschwarzwald, now faces mounting existential risk from the climate crisis.
- Researchers report the species is retreating upslope and is already found above roughly 1,000 meters, leaving very little higher habitat available.
- Juvenile worms are especially at risk because they spend their first year in upper soil layers that dry out during heat and drought, which could cause failed cohorts.
- Adults shelter in deep burrows reported down to about 2–2.5 meters that can buffer short heat spells, but experts say repeated and stronger heatwaves can dry even those deeper soils.
- Officials stress that almost no systematic surveys exist for this secretive species, so population size and trends are poorly known and no new conservation measures have been reported.