The Cayman land crab is a common sight at Silver Sands and around Cayman between May and August. Once the first rains start to come marking the rainy season, the crabs come out of their underground burrows and start scuttling around the island. Since they go to the sea to breed they are usually never too far from the water. These animals range from tiny baby size and can get up to a fairly large crustaceans with pincers to match! They reach maturity at the age of about 4-5 years, and can live up to 10 years.
Unfortunately these guys are up against may obstacles here in Cayman, between the road and largely going unnoticed by motorists at night, all the building on the island and the crab's loss of habitat, and the locals taste for these guys, to see a large one like this guys pictured here, is becoming a more and more rare sight.
The Cayman Compass posted an interesting article you can learn more about how these guys are being studied here in Cayman, and the Department of Environment has an interesting write up on the life cycle and habits of these indigenous creatures.
These guys are younger crabs that tend to be more colorful. They are both giving the warning sign to keep away. When they feel threatened they put their claws up for their enemy to see how fierce they are.
Crab season at the Cayman islands is 1 of the most fun (crab hunting) and to hear that the number of the large ones are declining because of our doings its rather sad.
ReplyDeleteCrabs shown above are 2 different species. The land crab does NOT go to the sea to breed.
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