Meet…
THE COCONUT CRAB
It is the largest living arthropod in the world, a species of terrestrial hermit crab also known as the robber crab or palm thief, but way bigger than any other hermit crabs. These monstrous giant crabs can climb up trees and cut down one or two coconuts, stroll back down and devour the insides.
Two things that we consider a GOOD THING about them.
- They cannot swim, if left in the water for an hour or more they will die.
- They are found only on a variety of islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans.
The BAD THING
- It takes 40 to 60 years for them to reach their maximum size.
- The only known predators they have are other coconut crabs and humans. Due to the large volume of flesh they have they are eaten by South-east Asians and Pacific Islanders and is considered a delicacy and aphrodisiac, and intensive hunting has threatened the species survival.
As scary as The Coconut Brab appears, it’s still important for us to preserve it’s existence and we hope more will be done to ensure they are not added to the extinct species list.
