Australia’s Christmas Island is home to over 90 species of crab, with the most commonly seen being the Robber Crab and the Christmas Island Red Crab. It is suggested between 40-50 million red land crabs live on the island.
This rocky island sits about 2600km North East of Perth (only 450km South of Jakarta) and is made up of tropical reefs, jagged cliffs and beaches. It’s a bird lovers paradise too, with one of the most popular being the Golden Bosun.
Crabs are found all over the island, denser in numbers in areas of rainforest. Around October or November, the beginning of the wet season, the brightly coloured Red Crabs being an incredible migration to the coast to breed and release eggs into the sea. This massive migration can last up to 18 days with road closures and detours in place to ensure their safe passage. Many roads have been fitted with ‘crab crossings’ to save them from being crushed by cars. Tunnels have also been built under roads for crabs to pass through.
The Red Crab Migration is on our bucket list, but you are guaranteed to see many, many crabs on Christmas Island at any time of the year.
Possible spawning dates for 2019 are: 22-24 Nov, 21-23 Dec
Possible spawning dates for 2020 are: 11-13 Oct, 10-12 Nov, 9-11 Dec
For more information contact the Christmas Island Tourism Association
