Red Crab Island

location of christmas island

Christmas Island rainforest

red crab

Red crabs begin their march from the forest to the sea, where they will reproduce
During the migration, the island's human inhabitants just have to adapt.
There are around 120 million crabs on the march
The crabs navigate the same pathways year after year
For the islanders, encounters with crabs during the migration are just part of island life.
Most of the time we just work around the crabs and take them for granted
Red crabs are scavengers
After two weeks of marching, the first wave of crabs reaches the ocean
The weary travellers dip in the ocean to replace body fluids and salts

Aerial view of Christmas Island
Crabs pop up in the most unexpected places
A female crab expels eggs from her brood pouch
The eggs hatch immediately on contact with the water
Baby crabs navigate their way into the rainforest ... and the ants