One of the most “spectacular” wonders of Australian nature occurs most years on a remote island beach and the incredible sight appeared again on Christmas Eve.
A sea of red crabs was spotted clambering towards the shores of Christmas Island — situated 2,600 kilometres north of Perth — causing the sand to disappear under the millions of baby crabs making their way towards the rainforest from the ocean.
The migration has been “bigger than usual” over the last decade, with most years prior having no or very few baby crabs emerge from the sea. However, as the population of the native land crabs has been able to thrive, this year the parade was in full swing.
“Our population has exploded over the last 10 years from 50 million to 180 million,” Brendan Tiernan from Christmas Island National Park told Yahoo News.
Each baby crab measures approximately five millimetres across and their inland march takes roughly nine days before they reach the safety of the tree canopy, where they remain hidden for the first three years of their life.
Christmas Island red crab migration happening ‘more often’
Tuesday’s spectacle was the final stage of the Christmas Island red crab migration and is the result of millions of female adult crabs heading the opposite direction several months ago to release their eggs into the ocean, where hatching occurs as soon as they make contact with the water.
The baby crabs were “normally only coming every seven years or so when we get this tidal wave of red”, however, in the last decade “it’s been happening more often than not” thanks to successful breeding.
“They’re all growing up and reaching maturity, and start migrating and the migration happens,” Tiernan said. “It’s been happening more often than not since 2014.”
The parade of baby crabs is a result of a successful breeding season. Source: Facebook/ChristmasIslandTourism & Christmas Island National Park
There are several beaches on the island where visitors can be certain to spot the crabs if a migration is taking place, such as Ethel Beach and Greta Beach, and authorities have even built walkways for the crabs to ensure they can dodge roads and stay out of harm’s way.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.