This story was first published by RNZ Online Checkpoint @CheckpointRNZ [email protected]

The quest for true love can move slowly and that's why a campaign's been launched to help a very rare snail find a mate.

Ned was unearthed in a Wairarapa garden earlier this month and was found to be something quite special - a left-spiralling snail.

His shell spirals in an anticlockwise direction from its smallest point, while the vast majority of snails boast a clockwise spiral on their shell.

It is a problem for Ned because the physical logistics means he needs another lefty in order to mate.

A nationwide snail hunt has been launched by New Zealand Geographic to find him a special friend.

Illustrator and gardener, Giselle Clarkson, found Ned and immediately picked up on his special spiral.

"It was last week I was in my garden and getting ready for spring, I was doing a big job weeding and the garden is absolutely riddled with snails at the moment," she told Checkpoint.

"I was pulling out a big plant and a snail tumbled into the dirt ... I went to pick it up and then something looked off, it just it was that uncanny valley type thing where you're looking at something and something's wrong, but you just can't put your finger on it because it's really subtle.

"At first, I thought perhaps it was another species altogether ... and I realised I had a rare lefty, which I knew about through my work with New Zealand Geographic."

Clarkson said while snails are hermaphrodites, they almost fit like puzzle pieces, meaning a lefty requires another lefty to mate.

Because of that, people are being asked to investigate their own gardens or local park as part of a campaign to find Ned a suitable partner.

"If people could get out into their gardens on the next warm, damp night ... with a torch or your park or you know anywhere that there's just sort of nice damp overgrown spots.

"There should be snails there and see if you can find a lefty, and then get in touch with New Zealand Geographic.

Clarkson said while snails may not possess the best reputation for keen gardeners, she hopes people can rally behind Ned's cause.

"I hope people find it in their hearts ... you're holding it in your hand and its tentacles come out and it's emerged, and its eyes are there just sort of looking gently back at you.

"Could you really be so cruel as to deny them a chance at love?"

Clarkson said it's an uphill battle as only one in every 40,000 snails is a lefty.

People keen to participate or those unsure if they have found the rare, left-spiralling snail can email photos to [email protected] - RNZ.