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Christmas Island Road Traffic Halted Over Red Crab Migration, Everything Is Fine

Road traffic on Christmas Island has been stopped this week after millions of red crabs have begun their migration to the ocean. The protected species is unique to the island, and it does this migration every year, but 2021 has seen millions of arthropods crawling across Christmas Island.
Red crab migration on Christmas Island 7 photos
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by The Sun, footage from Parks of Australia
Red crab migration on Christmas IslandRed crab migration on Christmas IslandRed crab migration on Christmas IslandRed crab migration on Christmas IslandRed crab migration on Christmas IslandRed crab migration on Christmas Island
Fortunately, this phenomenon is normal, and it is a part of a yearly migration for the species, which deposits its eggs into the ocean. As biologists explain, the migration seen here happens approximately two weeks after the mating season, that happens after the first rainfall of the wet season, and the exact timing and speed are decided by the phases of the moon.

Each female crab can produce up to 100,000 eggs. The females deposit the eggs into the Indian Ocean, which is why these creatures must crawl on the island every year. Locals are accustomed to the phenomenon, while tourists watch in awe.

After all, the red crab migration, unique in the world, is Christmas Island's biggest tourist attraction. This year, pandemic travel restrictions may have reduced the number of tourists, but we can witness the fascinating phenomenon thanks to videos that are posted online by Parks of Australia. Hats off to them for sharing this event with the rest of the world!

Some locals even rake the red crabs out of the way, to prevent them from being crushed by oncoming vehicles, while others let themselves get covered in scarlet red arthropods just for fun, as Christmas Island National Park's natural resource manager Brendan Tiernan told media representatives.

While animals migrate each year and other species of crabs do the same thing in their habitats, the ones off the coast of Western Australia make headlines through numbers. It is estimated that Christmas Island is host to approximately 50 million red crabs.

The species is protected by law in the country, so humans cannot interfere with their migration or attempt to curb their numbers. As Parks of Australia notes, the red crabs always spawn before dawn on a receding high tide during the last quarter of the moon.

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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