Red Crab Migration
Thousands of red crabs scuttle from their inland shelter to the shores of Christmas Island for their annual breeding season. Flying Fish Cove, Ethel Beach and Greta Beach are all good spots to watch the truly spectacular Red Crab Migration.
At the start of the wet season, the Red Crab Migration on Christmas Island sees the males moving to the shores first. Here they fight for territory, then burrow into the sand to wait for the females, who arrive a couple of days later and are duly impregnated.
On the last quarter of the moon and at the turn of the high tide, the egg-laden females pour out their eggs into the sea at dawn before starting their epic journey back to the forest.
Fish feast on the young larvae, but those not eaten or washed away by ocean currents develop into prawn-like 5mm-long megalopae. About twice every 10 years, Christmas Island is again a moving carpet of red, as the baby crabs crawl across the island filling every nook and cranny until they reach their new forest home. Local authorities put up fences to keep crabs off the road and divert the crawling red mass to the many crossings that have been built around the island.
Related Information
Website: Red Crab Migration Website
| County Information: | Christmas Island |
|---|---|
| Full Name: | |
| Directions: | Closer to Indonesia than Australia (Java is about 320km - 200 miles - to the north, while Western Australia is about 1600km - 1000 miles - to the southeast), Christmas Island is one of the most remote of Australia's External Territories. By plane: Flights from Perth in Western Australia to Christmas Island Airport arrive twice weekly, and from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia once a week. |
| Other Information: | Christmas Island |
| Website: | Christmas Island Website |
| Name: | Christmas Island Tourism Association |
|---|---|
| Location: | Christmas Island |
| Email: | cita@christmas.net.au |
| Phone: | 61 (0) 8 9164 8382 |
| Fax: | 61 (0) 8 9164 8080 |
| Name: | Australian Tourist Commission |
| Location: | Australia |
| Address: | PO Box 2721, Level 4, 80 William St, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, NSW 2011, Australia. The postal address is: PO Box 2721, Sydney, NSW 2001, Australia |
| Phone: | +61 (0) 2 9360 1111 |
| Fax: | +61 (0) 2 9331 2538 |
| Name: | Australian Tourist Commission in London |
| Location: | Australia |
| Address: | Gemini House 10-18 Putney Hill, Putney, London, SW15 6AA |
| Email: | europe_tradeline@atc.gov.au |
| Phone: | +44 (0) 208 780 2229 |
| Fax: | +44 (0) 208 780 1496 |
