Millions of red crabs cover streets on Australia’s Christmas Island
Young girl scoots along with migrating Christmas Island red crabs
Red crab migration season, which sees millions of crabs make their way to the ocean to breed, has kicked off on Australia’s Christmas Island, and one youngster was keen to follow along by scooter. (Credit: @winterishere2015 via Storyful)
It’s that time of year again and no, we’re not talking about the holidays.
The red crab migration season has begun on Australia’s Christmas Island, when the streets get quite literally covered in crabs.
Every year, millions of red crabs emerge from the forests and make their way towards the ocean to mate, according to Parks Australia.
Video recorded on Nov. 2 shows signs of street closures to ensure the bright red crustaceans are able to make safe passage to their breeding grounds.
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One video shows a child riding a scooter, carefully avoiding the critters as they take over the street.
The red crabs start their migration once the first rainfall occurs, according to Parks Australia, which usually happens in October or November.
"The exact timing and speed of the migration is determined by the phase of the moon. Red crabs always spawn before dawn on a receding high-tide during the last quarter of the moon. Incredibly, they know exactly when to leave their burrows to make this lunar date," according to Parks Australia website.
FILE - Freeze frame from video showing child riding scooter on crab-infested street. (@winterishere2015 via Storyful)
A female crab can produce up to 100,000 eggs and in some areas, there can be up to 100 crabs per square meter of beach or rock, Parks Australia continued. That’s a lot of crabs.
Storyful contributed to this report.