Hungry slug becomes star of B.C. viral video

A hungry slug on Gabriola Island has become the unknowing star of a video uploaded to Facbeook that has now gone viral.

Photographer R. Jeanette Martin uploaded the time lapse video to her shutterjet Facebook page on June 9 and it has received almost three million views.

“I took the video on my day off last Friday, June 9,” said Martin in an email interview. “It was shot in my backyard which backs onto a heavily forested area here on Gabriola, so lots of slugs and wildlife.”

Martin set up her camera to capture the slug eating for about 35 minutes, then condensed the footage into 35 seconds.

“I decided to shoot the video after seeing the slug was munching on a dandelion green,” said Martin. “They move so slowly and I’m often passing them by on my way elsewhere so I hadn’t had time to observe their behaviour before. Since I had the day off, I took the time to take a better look and get down on the slug’s level.”

The slug can be seen munching on some weeds before slinking away to its next meal.

Martin said the response to the video has been overwhelming.

“I never thought at the time I posted it that it would have such a far reach,” she said. “I genuinely love the response I’ve gotten. I have always had a fascination with nature and wildlife and it’s nice to see that other people share that fascination.”

Martin added that she has had a few residents on Gabriola tell her after seeing her video they now feel guilty when they need to kill them to keep their crops safe.

“For the record, I let the viral slug star live,” she said. “It slithered back in the direction of the woods and left its slime trail behind.”