My first overseas crab experience.....

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My first overseas crab experience.....

Post by Guest » Mon Nov 11, 2002 7:57 pm

(See address at bottom for photos!!)G'day all, Long time no write.... so I will make up for it.I just got back from a little trip os to a place called Vanuatu. It�s about 3 and a half hours north east of Sydney, past New Zealand and New Caledonia in the South Pacific. In fact, it was where �South Pacific� was filmed many many years ago. It was also this year where �Crazy Sean�s Adventures in Paradise� was filmed, along with �The Crab Hunter�We stayed at a little island just off the main island, there are 83 islands in all. To give you an idea of how big the island is that we stayed on you could kayak around it in under ten minutes. In fact I even snorkelled around it one arvo and that took about 12 mins including photo stops along the way and a cool beer at the cafe. Most people stay there cause it�s tiny laid back and has a marine sanctuary. We saw everything from little fish to big fish, brightly coloured fish to very brightly coloured fish, sea snakes, clams, hermit crabs �. the works.But I found another reason why I would stay there again�. Crabs� Hermit crabs.I never ever dreamt of a place where you have to so watch where you walk for fear of walking on them. How many we did walk on I am not sure, but I would say a few. At night if you sat in the one place for a while they would be walking over you. They were everywhere and I was loving it.Apart from the aquatic ones I saw of about three different types (the ones with blue eyes were my favourites), I saw just the two types on land- �Purples� and �Reds�, which were very different from each other and not just cause of their colours.The purples were by far the most common, by my estimates making up about at least 95% of the islands crab population of which there must have been thousands. And apart from one domestic cat on the island I could see no natural predators for the crabs and they were by far the most common animal on the island. No wonder there were so many of them. As juveniles you could find the very tiniest of tiny guys, and they were more likely to be out during the day, either down on the coral shores of the beach of just chillin� in the plant life. For some reason the larger guys (those bigger than a 20c piece) were less common during the day (being nocturnal maybe?), or maybe it was simply because there were so many smaller ones there was always bound to be a few of them out.The purples go through a few colour changes in their life so it seemed, and do not start purple. They start as a tan colour with brown stripes running along their legs and down their exo. Also very predominate in the young ones was a black (or very dark) spot on the outside of their large pincher. On some this was very clearly visible, on others not so and it was mostly gone by the time the crab had gotten to a larger (still smallish though) size. At first I was not sure it these small browns were the same as the big purples even though I had only seen small of one colour and big of the other, until I found a medium size guy who was just starting to go purple, but you could still see a vague mark of his pincher spot.By the time they had reached adult hood the spot was gone and they were a lovely all over purple or purple/brown colour.And their behaviour was quite different as they matured also. As juveniles they would not really give a stuff about anything. You may give them a fright back into their shell but before no time they were back out again going about their business. As they got to more of a medium to a big size they were the opposite. They would become locked up in their shell for a while if you approached them and not want anything to do with you. As they got bigger again, and I mean BIGger, they changed again and became very forceful about their dislike in being handled. They would make every attempt to get away from you using all their strength and at this size I would hardly pick any up further than their legs just off the floor for the prospect of a nip from one. They would sometimes want to dump their shell but I would release them by this time. Lastly there was the King. I ran into this guy twice, once on the first night and I caught up with him again later in the week. As I said the island was not very large, and even though there were a heap of crabs, with the reds and the big purples some were recognised quite easily by their shells. The King was different again to the other purples. Slow and old, but a beautiful big guy in a nice big shell. He was calm, if not a little timid and never made an attempt to have a go at me. Maybe his attitude has had something to do with his longevity, but then again the same could be said for the angry big guys.What ever, he was beautiful. And he weighed a heap too like all of the big guys. I�m sure their shells were heavy but the crab itself must have weighed a bit. I�m guessing at half a kilo�at least.Although not any where near as common the Reds had their say too. And these guys were just as beautiful. I hardly saw any of them as juveniles (well hardly any full stop) and the adults I saw were not quite as big as the big purples. They were a great red colour, some tinged with brown on top and orange on the insides of their legs. From what I saw they were pretty well the same colour throughout their journey from juvenile to adult. Also what made them quite different was the amount of hair on their legs. The purple guys were quite smooth but the reds could have done with a good shave. Their legs looked like those of a really hairy spider and were generally a lighter colour which made them stand out even more. As far as their attitude goes they were very feisty. I was bitten more by handling a few of these guys then by all of the purples� but it was worth it. They would not only put up a good fight, but could run�fast! And if too stressed their shell was dropped before you knew it.Also the majority of them seemed to wear a shell too small for them. There was hardly a shortage of shells so it must just be them, cause never once was one in a shell large enough that he could withdrawal right back into. And check out the photo of one wearing a seed pod� very amusing.As far as I could tell they lived quite peacefully side by side with the purples. Also there were other land crabs on the island with purple being a theme again. There was no coconut tress on our island hence no coconut crabs, although I did see one at the markets in Port Vila, the capital. Even though his legs were tied up he did look BIG. And you will be happy to know I did not eat any crab on my stay, and my girlfriend�s son wanted to buy some crabs we saw in plastic bags at the market so he could rescue them and return them to the wild. May I suggest when you go crab hunting at night to take a six year old with you, not only do they have great eye sight but they are good at holding a torch while you line your camera up in the dark.As I said, they were everywhere at night. The last night we were there I was out the back in the hammock having my last of the local beers when I heard a lot more chinking and clunking then usual. I turned on the torch to find a �Hermit Crab�s of Vanuatu Discussion Group�. On a bit of sloped soil in a space no more than half a metre by half a metre there were about 70-80 crabs! I had never seen then in such a congregation before, and it was not even for food or anything. They were just sitting there, all together. Chatting I guess, or waiting to roll me and grab the last of my beer when I was not expecting them was the more likely answer.If you have made it this far you will now be rewarded. At our photo site I have posted quite a few picks of the crabs from the week. Feel free to have a look, some are a bit too close and a little smudgy bu

t you get the picture. Anyway, have a look and let us know what you think.http://community.webshots.com/user/trashyhonky

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