A Christmas Island red crab during its migration
© Ingo Arndt/Minden Picture
The crabs of Christmas Island. Feeling crabby?
It’s estimated that some 40 million of these bright, red crabs live on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean. It’s warm there this time of year, and these crabs are migrating to the sea, where they will mate and spawn. The event is quite a spectacle—onlookers will see rivers of crabs, thousands of them climbing over fences and crossing roads on their journey, which attracts tourists to the remote destination. This isle itself was named by a British Sea captain who discovered the destination on Christmas Day of 1643.
Related Images
California sea lion in a forest of giant kelp, Baja California, Mexico
Banded pipefish near Moalboal, Philippines
The English National Ballet's 2016 production of 'The Nutcracker' at the London Coliseum in London, England
Ochre sea star on kelp off the coast of California
Stone structure in Hamersley Gorge, Karijini National Park, Australia
Piraputanga schooling in the Cerrado, Brazil
Atlantic ghost crab
Frost patterns on a steel beam on a bridge over Mistaya Canyon, Banff National Park, Alberta
Today on Bing
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
Dec 10, 2022
Sleeping Arctic fox
Dec 10, 2020