Summary Christmas Island lies far off the shores of Australia in the NW, and is the tip of an extinct volcano. They have the largest number of land crabs in the world and the Red Crab has the largest number in a migration in the world. There are about ten million who live in the rain forest in the centre of the island and once a year make the perilous 5 km journey to the ocean where they mate, The females wait 3 days for incubation in the burrows that the males made in advance of the females arriving. They wait for the Neap tide, when the difference between high and low tide is the smallest, then females, with their sacs of eggs under their belly, make their way down the cliffs, and after a bit of a jig, they release the eggs in the ocean. The eggs hatch immediately into larvae in the sea, The female parents make the long journey home inland. After a month in the sea the larvae morph into baby crabs and make their way back to the beach. Then after 3-5 days at the beach, their lungs change into the air breathing crab stage. Now they are ready to make the journey inland. It will be 4-5 years before their first annual migration to the ocean to reproduce.
Directed : Unknown
Written : Unknown
Stars : Edwina Wren
Genres : Documentary
Release date : Sep 7, 2017
Countries of origin : Canada
Language : English
Production companies : Blue Ant Media
Summary Christmas Island lies far off the shores of Australia in the NW, and is the tip of an extinct volcano. They have the largest number of land crabs in the world and the Red Crab has the largest number in a migration in the world. There are about ten million who live in the rain forest in the centre of the island and once a year make the perilous 5 km journey to the ocean where they mate, The females wait 3 days for incubation in the burrows that the males made in advance of the females arriving. They wait for the Neap tide, when the difference between high and low tide is the smallest, then females, with their sacs of eggs under their belly, make their way down the cliffs, and after a bit of a jig, they release the eggs in the ocean. The eggs hatch immediately into larvae in the sea, The female parents make the long journey home inland. After a month in the sea the larvae morph into baby crabs and make their way back to the beach. Then after 3-5 days at the beach, their lungs change into the air breathing crab stage. Now they are ready to make the journey inland. It will be 4-5 years before their first annual migration to the ocean to reproduce.
Genres : Documentary
Release date : Sep 7, 2017
Countries of origin : Canada
Language : English
Production companies : Blue Ant Media
