US EditionPeople use garden tools to protect millions of migrating red crabs on Christmas Island
- On Thursday, tens of millions of red crabs began moving toward the coast across Christmas Island, with the island's smaller human residents helping them during the migration.
- Alexia Jankowski, Christmas Island National Park acting manager, said Thursday the island hosts up to 200 million Gecarcoidea natalis, with up to 100 million moving to the shoreline to breed.
- Volunteers and residents rake baby crabs about half the size of a fingernail and later use garden rakes and backpack leaf blowers to clear roads and protect them.
- The breeding cycle includes a two-week incubation and a month-long larval phase as male crabs excavate burrows for females to lay eggs and young larvae ride ocean currents.
- Faced with the surge, island residents clear roads and driveways to avoid injuring crabs and must keep front doors closed to prevent crabs entering homes.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Christmas Island crabs begin epic migration
Millions of migrating red crabs have travelled across Christmas Island to reach the ocean. The annual phenomenon sees millions of crustaceans leaving their forest dwellings to walk across roads and through neighbourhoods in order to reach the shore and spawn their eggs. This year’s march has kicked off slightly earlier than expected, with residents currently preparing for major road closures across the entire island, which is located off mainlan…
Millions of migrating red crabs cross Christmas Island to reach the ocean
According to the island's national park management there were up to 200 million of the endemic crabs, also known as Gecarcoidea natalis, on the tiny Australian island territory in the Indian Ocean. Up to 100 million were expected to make their way from their forest burrows to the shoreline where they breed.
A herd of millions of red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia, began migrating from the deep forest to the coast to lay eggs on an annual cycle, amid a collaboration of islanders that helped pave their way to the sea safely.
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