Locals get ready as tens of millions of red crabs begin annual odyssey across tiny island
Millions of red crabs begin migration across Christmas Island
- Tens of millions of red crabs have commenced their annual migration across Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean.
- The annual odyssey, triggered by the Southern Hemisphere's summer rains, involves up to 100 million crabs travelling from forest burrows to the shoreline for breeding.
- The island's 1,200 human residents actively assist the crustaceans, using leaf blowers and garden rakes to clear them from roads and driveways.
- Female crabs are expected to release their spawn into the ocean at high tide on November 14 or 15, coinciding with the last quarter of the moon.
- After a month as larvae in the ocean, young crabs return to Christmas Island, with humans using leaf blowers to clear the tiny crustaceans from roads to prevent them from being crushed by cars.