Why are there so many red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia?

Why are there so many red crabs on Australia’s Christmas Island?

Why are there so many red crabs on Australia’s Christmas Island? Red crabs are also called “terrestrial red crabs, red land crabs, and Australian red crabs.” , its scientific name is Christmas Island red crab. This kind of red crab is also relatively large. Why are there so many red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia? Why are there so many red crabs on Christmas Island in Australia 1

Due to the special climate environment of Christmas Island (in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, close to Java Island), there are currently about 120 million red crabs living on the island, and we What I saw on this trip was just a small part of it. During the period after November every year, at least more than 50 million red crabs will participate in the great migration.

Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia has the most popular tourist season from October to December every year due to the existence of an astonishing number of red crabs.

The most common red crab migration cycle on Christmas Island is closely tied to the seasons. Usually before the rainy season begins, crabs will leave the inland forests and go to the seaside to lay eggs. During the crab migration period (October to December), some roads on the island will be temporarily closed to car traffic (hiking is not restricted).

Every time the red crab migration season comes, the residents of Christmas Island come up with many safety measures to ensure that the crabs can migrate normally. Under the protection of the islanders, the red crabs are fearless and crawl around waving their big pincers. Sometimes they appear in residents' homes, sometimes at the door of small town shops, and sometimes they stop on the road to rest in a grand manner! They may know that no one will harm red crabs on Christmas Island anyway~

The first batch of red crabs to arrive on the beach are resting on the rocks on the beach. Before reaching the beach, these crabs also have to go through many obstacles in their lives, such as falling behind and walking in the wrong direction, being killed by the wheel, being trampled to death by naughty children, being caught and eaten by people, being killed by coconut crabs, and being killed by other animals or birds. Group destruction...

It is said that red crabs generally take 3 to 4 years to grow from birth to adulthood. They need to start migrating about a month before the spawning period, and then once a year. For an adult red crab to go from inland forest to beach to lay eggs, the migration process takes about seven days on average. These seven days are also its most dangerous period.

In order to ensure that the red crabs successfully complete their migration, the residents of Christmas Island have also painstakingly come up with various methods to prevent the accidental death of red crabs. In addition to closing roads and erecting warning signs, people also built route walls and special bridges and tunnels for red crab migration to prevent them from being run over when crossing the road.

The "migration fence" built by local residents for red crabs is also a protective measure.

The odds are against the odds. Even if people try their best to avoid human-caused death of red crabs during migration, sometimes they will be attacked by "close relatives". Coconut crabs are definitely a hidden danger on the migration route of red crabs: Coconut crabs often migrate with the red crab army. They do not go to the beach to lay eggs, but wait for "leaps" on the road - they do not attack red crabs directly. , but when they find an injured red crab, the coconut crabs will swarm up and eat the injured red crab.

After experiencing a narrow escape, the red crab arrived safely at the beach. They first soak their bodies in seawater to replenish water and salt. The male then digs a hole in the sand where mating occurs, and the female red crab then lays her eggs, before the adult crabs return inland.

During the "return" of the red crab migration, red crabs climbed up the small cliffs on Ethel Beach, Christmas Island.

As the tide changes, the seawater will bring the crab eggs to the sea. After about two weeks, countless small red crabs, only about 5 mm in length, will climb onto the beach and migrate inland. At this point, the Christmas Island red crab migration journey will come to an end! Why are there so many red crabs on Christmas Island, Australia 2

The annual migration of red crabs on Christmas Island is for reproduction. To do this, red crabs need to leave their cozy caves in the jungle and crawl to the seaside to mate and lay eggs.

To humans, this is just a few minutes walk, but to the red crabs, it is the biggest adventure in their lives. Red crabs like to stay in damp, cool places. Once they leave the cave, their lives are exposed to unknown dangers. Loss of water and sun exposure are the number one killers of red crabs.

Once the rainfall decreases or stops, if the red crabs cannot quickly find a shady area to avoid the sun, they will soon die from excessive water loss. The passing of the vehicle was a disaster that the red crabs were completely unprepared for.

Red crabs inhabit Christmas Island in the East Indian Ocean, more than 300 kilometers south of Java Island, Indonesia, and are under the jurisdiction of Australia.

Christmas Island is surrounded by the sea. There are more than 30 kinds of animals and plants on the island that are not found in other parts of the world. The Christmas Island red crab is a variant of the purple crab that lives in Southeast Asia. It is an omnivore and mainly feeds on fallen leaves and flowers of these plants. It also eats fruits, flowers and seedlings.

They prefer fresh green leaves but will eat any fallen leaves. It is an omnivorous species that will eat dead crabs and birds, giant African snails, and delicious human garbage. There is little competition on the island and food resources are plentiful. The average life span is 35 years.

After the red crabs each walk out of the cave, they will automatically form a huge team, with the stronger male crabs walking in front, and the place they pass by will be red. There are no signposts in the direction of the journey. They rely on the feeling of the sea temperature to identify the direction.

Due to their poor ability to avoid obstacles, they will cross them regardless of whether they are houses or parked cars. The distance from the nest to the coast is different. The shortest one can arrive in about a week, and the longest one takes about 20 days. Why are there so many red crabs on Christmas Island in Australia 3

Red crabs are also called “land red crabs, red land crabs, and Australian red crabs.” Its scientific name is Christmas Island red crab. It is also relatively large, with a carapace up to 116 mm long and a weight of 415-480 grams. When running on the ground, many people also liken it to a "roasted red lobster". This kind of red crab is not widely distributed. It is mainly distributed on Christmas Island and Coco Island in the Indian Ocean. crab.

Since these islands are surrounded by sea, if red crabs want to survive, they must become part of the food chain on the islands. They mainly live on fallen leaves and flowers of plants, and also eat Fruits, flowers and seedlings, and occasionally other dead crabs and birds, giant African snails, etc. can also be seen from here. In fact, there is a lot of food that can be eaten, so extinction and death are basically impossible.

The lifespan of red crabs is also relatively long, with an average lifespan of 35 years. In addition, there is almost no competition on the island, so the population will definitely expand, and it may even expand on the island in the future. From the sky above, you can see the entire island turning red. This is the case of red crabs.

Can you eat so many red crabs? Is it "so refreshing" to stir-fry or drink wine? Indeed, although there are many red crabs, they are really inedible. Among Australian red crabs, there is a poisonous substance called formic acid. This substance is found in the secretions of bees, certain ants and caterpillars. However, this formic acid is a toxic substance that will damage the gastric mucosa if absorbed into the body.

If you are not careful, it may aggravate other physical problems. Although methods have been developed to remove toxins from red crabs, it is not recommended to cook them at home, otherwise it may lead to food poisoning. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat red crab. If you don’t know how to handle it, you will definitely not be able to enjoy it.

Red crab is a species that is best not to be eaten, mainly because it contains toxins in its body, which requires vigilance. At the same time, from the perspective of the ecosystem, no matter where we are, we should not focus on food organisms. Most organisms play a supporting role in the ecosystem. If people do not protect them, the ecosystem will be destroyed. Serious collapse may occur, which not only affects the collapse of the ecosystem, but may even trigger chain effects.