In Cuba, crabs embark on perilous migration to Bay of Pigs
PLAYA GIRON, Cuba (AP) — Every year in Cuba, millions of crabs emerge from the forest at the beginning of the spring rains and head for the waters of the Bay of Pigs, crossing streets and highways on a perilous journey to mate and reproduce.
Now underway, the migration causes concern to drivers who try to swerve in an often futile attempt not to kill the crustaceans. The crabs are a nuisance to residents but the sight of their road-crossing is a wonder for tourists and other first-time onlookers.
Wow.... It must be quite a sight.
ReplyDeleteI was stationed in the Canal Zone at a Naval installation in the early 70s and witnessed this migration in Panama. Aside from my assigned technical duties I was trained to drive a 40 passenger bus to and from the work station with work crew aboard. I did not swerve to miss any of them as there were thousands of the land crabs on the road all the time. As they sidled across the road, the larger crabs would stop and raise their claws as if to stop you. SCRUNCH!!! The downside to this migratory melodrama was that the dead crabs literally raised the surface of the roadbed and in the Panamanian humidity the putrid stench from their rotting remains would make you head for the vomitorium, no lie! As these crabs are scavengers, their meat is unfit to eat as is, but the Panamanians would catch them, keep them in basins and bathtubs and clean them out by feeding them corn, which made them edible I was told, not brave enough to try the delicacy.
ReplyDeleteMilleson - I love that word "vomitorium"! I can only imagine how bad it must have been.
ReplyDeleteHumans have made everything so difficult. I think of turtles who have to go through the same crap...
ReplyDeleteI lived on the Caribbean for some time, and we also had this crab migration.
ReplyDeleteDuring the migration time, we usually had 2 spare wheels on the car's trunk because the raised big claws can easily punch a Tyre.
Let me tell you that I had to use both spares several times!
Anon@3:25pm - Wow! Puncture a tire, I had no idea.
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