Millions of tiny baby crabs coat entire island in red carpet
If you don't like things that crawl, we don't recommend you continue.
If, however, you're a sucker for the incredible force of nature and the majesty of life, this is exactly the kind of thing you'll like: the annual migration of millions of baby crabs on Christmas Island is underway.
Every year in November or December, the crab species leaves its home, swarming from the centre of the 135 square-kilometre island to reach the ocean where they lay their eggs. Then, around this time of year, the new generation wash up on shore and need to make the way back home without any of their parents to guide the way.
YouTube user LennyT uploaded this footage from this year's migration, showing how the millions of miniscule crustaceans coat the island in a scrabbling red carpet as they make their journey - less of an inconvenience than their larger brethren, maybe, but more unsettling for some.
The tiny baby crabs are just 5mm across - only just out of the larval stage of life, three or four weeks since they were laid as eggs. It takes them nine days to travel from the sea to the island's centre, where they grow into rather larger animals, about 10cm across - not counting the claws.
The folks at Christmas Island - a territory of Australia - are well-equipped to handle this annual migration there and back, having even built "bridges" and temporary barriers to channel the crabs in the right direction.
The migration of the grown crabs has even become something of a tourist attraction in a place known for its wildlife. In fact, the Christmas Island red crab is one of just 14 species of crab on the island.
That's a whole lot of crab.
