Caution!! Crabs Crossing!!
Every year at the beginning of the wet season, around October or November, the Christmas Island red crab (Gecarcoidea natalis), begins its migration from the forest to the coast to breed.
Although only endemic to Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean, there is estimated to be more than 120 million red crabs on the rain forest floor of Christmas Island(National Geographic). The migration of the crabs is usually synchronised throughout the Island, with the rain providing moist conditions enabling them to make the long and difficult journey.
The mass migration is headed by the males, quickly followed by the females. The crabs spend several painstaking weeks scuttling to the ocean, which can be as far as 9 km away.
In order to mitigate human interference with the migration, road closures and designated “crab crossings” are put in place and local radio stations report on the crabs movements.
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