Don’t let the name fool you, Christmas Island is not a winter wonderland filled with Santa Clause themed decorations. In fact, the island is an Australian territory that is known for natural wonders that include deserted beaches and, oh yeah, giant crabs! One brave native decided to take his chances and pick one up for a photo and you won’t believe your eyes when you see this!
20. Mark Pierrot
Image: Honest To Paws
Mark Pierrot is a Christmas Island native and no stranger to the surrounding area. Even though Mark has grown pretty used to the odd wildlife that live on the island, he still gets shocked from time to time. This was one of those times…
19. Location
Image: Travel + Leisure
For those that may not know, Christmas Island is a small piece of land lying south of Java, Indonesia. While the island is pretty known for its rainforests and waterfalls, there’s also something else it’s known for. The island happens to be home to some pretty out of this world wildlife.
18. Brave Soul
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Mark was taking a walk along the beach when he came across a huge prehistoric monster! Many of us would have simply ran away from that enormous thing. However, Mark decided to pick it up and take a photo with it instead. So what was that giant creature?!
17. The Creature
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The monstrous creature that Mark was holding in his hands happened to be a coconut crab. These big guys can weigh up to 10 pounds and can grow to around three feet wide. You won’t believe how long they can live for either.
16. Lifespan
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The lifespan of a coconut crab can vary, however, many have lived to be 120 years old. We can pretty much assume that the crab that Mark happened to lift up was older than he is. After all, that crab might have been living on the island for a few decades now.
15. Climbers
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The craziest fact about these crabs is that they can actually climb trees! That’s right, so if you plan on climbing up a tree to escape one you’d better think twice. However, jumping into some water would help out as they are a land-based animal and will drown in water.
14. Brainpower
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Like other types of crabs, the coconut crab uses its antennae and highly developed sense of smell to find potential food from great distances. In order to do this, the coconut crab usually nearly all of its brainpower.
But are they vicious?!
13. Gentle Creatures
Image: Flickr
According to Mark and many other Christmas Island natives, the coconut crab is not an animal to fear. In fact, they don’t attack unless provoked. However, you still wouldn’t want to get on its bad side as its claws are strong enough to lift up around 62 pounds.
Those claws do come in handy when they want to eat, though!
12. Coconuts
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Those claws happen to come in handy, however, when coconut crabs decide to indulge in their favorite delicacy. You see, the coconut crab gets its name from the coconuts that it loves to eat. Their powerful claws allow them to break those coconuts open easily.
11. Their Claws
Image: Crabs of Christmas Island
“They use their claws to pull away the outer fibers,” ecologist Michelle Drew explained. “This can sometimes take many days and it often involves a number of crabs. They then use their longest walking leg to puncture a hole through the eyes of the coconut and then they can use their claws to pry open the shell further.”
10. Large
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Coconut crabs also happen to be the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world. They also grow out of their exoskeletons, just like other crabs do. The coconut crab goes through this shedding process once a year. They do, however, engage in a pretty creepy activity to make their new exoskeleton grow faster…
9. New Exoskeleton
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Once the coconut crab comes out of its old shell, it is completely exposed and vulnerable. To make their new exoskeleton grow faster, the coconut crab actually begins to ingest its old one. As strange as this sounds it is necessary to their survival.
8. Molting Process
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“[Coconut crabs] that are disturbed before they have consumed the entire shell often have soft exoskeletons until they have time to re-accumulate the necessary calcium and other minerals,” Michelle said of the molting process.
Although coconut crabs don’t usually attack humans they have been known to be pretty vicious to other life forms when necessary.
7. Aggression
Image: Baldpacker
Most residents on Christmas Island will tell you that they haven’t witnessed any aggression from the coconut crabs. However, there are records of coconut crabs attacking small chickens, dogs, and cats to make a meal out of them. There is even one rumor of coconut crabs being responsible for a person’s disappearance…
6. Amelia Earhart
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The rumor circles around famous pilot Amelia Earhart. Earhart disappeared back in 1937 when she was flying around the globe. So what does Amelia Earhart have to do with the coconut crabs of Christmas Island?!
5. The Story
Image: YouTube
The theory states that Amelia Earhart crashed her plane somewhere on the island of Nikumaroro. The story states that the coconut crabs carried her remains off and consumed them. Researchers decided to test out the theory…
4. Research
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Researchers decided that they wanted to see if there was any truth to the Earhart theory. To test it out, researchers left out a pig carcass and waited to see how the coconut crabs would respond to it. In just a few days time, the crabs had completely eaten off all of the flesh!
3. Possibility
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With this information at their hands, researchers have taken the Amelia Earhart theory more seriously. After all, it would explain why it has been so hard to identify her remains. Still, nothing has been set in stone…
2. Too Many Years
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Way too much time has passed for anyone to know if coconut crabs were responsible for the lack of Earhart’s remains. It seems that all of the theories are just theories. Still, it is pretty mind blowing to think that a coconut crab could consume an entire human being.
1. Specific Areas
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Luckily for the majority of us, coconut crabs only live in very specific areas and climates such as islands in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Despite how strong and big they are, many of the natives do not fear these prehistoric creatures at all. Just ask Mark if you don’t believe us!