When photographer Kirsty Faulkner presented his surrounded photographs in front of people, many laughed and many left drooling. Because what surrounded her was the red crab unique to Christmas Island. Roughly calculated, more than 45 million red crabs are on their way, and they have reached a good time for migration and mating.
You may think it's incredible, but that's all there is to it. Photographer Kirsty moved to Christmas Island with her three children because of this breathtaking landscape. Even if you see such a huge migration scene every year, every year is a state of insufficient viewing.
Photographer Kirsty said: "This is a unique landscape on this island. Even in the air you can get a bird's eye view. Both the inhabitants of the island and the tourists who come to see it every year will be captivated by the wonders of these little creatures. ”
Every year in November, with the arrival of the rainy season, the Christmas Island Red Crabs embark on the most exciting journey of their lives. These "little ones" with an average life expectancy of 35 years old, relying on their own perception of ocean temperature, are heading for the sea.
And once they arrive at the seashore, they can begin their important mission of courtship and reproduction. The migration process is not easy for these creatures, which are only about 10 centimeters long, and the physically strong and lucky "koi" can reach the sea in less than a week to dig sand and build nests.
And those red crabs with limited physical strength, the slowest to climb two weeks to reach the sea. But to be able to reach the seaside is already a great blessing. Some red crabs also died under the ruts of the car during their migration along the way, or because of the hot weather, they were physically weak. Surprisingly, because the shell is hard enough, some cars also have punctures because they crush red crabs.
To this end, the relevant departments of Christmas Island have vigorously built a "Red Crab Exclusive Bridge" to help these little ones cross the road smoothly. Sometimes when the number is too large, the authorities prefer to close the traffic arteries and ensure that these red crabs can safely reach the sea.
After completing the "popping" task, the male crab will return, while the female crab will stay in the cave for a period of time after laying eggs, and surprisingly, the female crab lays a very high amount of eggs, and can lay 100,000 eggs at a time. After about 4 weeks, the baby crabs embark on a "family hunt", and then every November when the rainy season arrives, they also become part of the migration army.
Christmas Island red crabs have plummeted due to the invasion of African long-legged ants and various human developments. Fortunately, with the strong support of relevant departments, the current number has shown a good momentum of increase. Although these completely indifferent little guys have some impact on people's lives during the migration process, they will climb up to the roof and be invincible, but their presence has also allowed the natural improvement of land dredging and so on.
As for whether the Christmas Island red crab can be eaten, there has been controversy. Some say they have delicious flesh, and some say they are poisonous. Anyway, no matter how large the population, encountered foodie humans, there is no good ending, let's still let them go!