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发帖数: 15215 | 1 Mating season turns these hermits into beach party ravers as thousands of
crabs completely cover tiny islands shoreline
Incredible scenes occur just once a year as the hermit crabs make their way
to the ocean to breed
Photographer crouched among the carpet of scuttling crustaceans to capture
the images on St John in the U.S. Virgin Islands
This is definitely not the beach you want to throw your towel down on as its
covered with hundreds of thousands of migrating Hermit crabs.
Every year on the tiny isle of St John in the U.S. Virgin Islands a bizarre
phenomenon occurs when hundreds of thousands of Hermit crabs, also known as
Soldier crabs, make the treacherous journey towards the sea.
They all travel en-mass at the same time to reach the water where they breed
. The female crabs then cast their fertilised eggs into the Caribbean before
retreating back into the vegetation.
On the march: Millions of hermit crabs - also known as soldier crabs - head
for the shoreline on the tiny U.S. Virgin Island of St John
The newly born Hermit crabs spend several months in the sea before returning
to the land.
Hermit crabs are predominantly a land creature, often burrowing into the
roots of large trees, but must stay relatively close to the sea as they
require a supply of water in their shells. The sea is also a perfect
breeding ground for the crabs, who release millions of offspring into the
waters.
Photographer and cinematographer Steve Simonsen, 53, from Michigan in the U.
S., captured the spectacle with his camera at Nanny Point in the south east
of the island after a tip-off from a friend.
He said: I received an urgent telephone call from my good friend Pam Gaffin.
She was terribly excited about an event that was happening before her eyes.
She told me it was a migration of soldier crabs also called hermit crabs and
there were millions and millions of them, she likened it to the migrations
of Serengeti.
I didnt need to hear anymore, I loaded my car with cameras and was out the
door. he said.
Crustacean army: The rocky shoreline is carpeted with the hermit crabs,
which travel to the water en masse to breed once a year
Mating season: The hermit crabs breed in the water, and the female crabs
cast their fertilised eggs into the sea before retreating.
Incredibly, the entire crab migration takes just one day, with the crabs
heading down to the seafront at sunrise, laying their eggs before retreating
back up inland into the hills at noon. When I first arrived at the beach,
the sight of that many crabs was astonishing, Mr Simonsen said.It was hard
to fathom and once I set up a camera for a wide shot, I had to try to settle
myself down and be sure that I would get all the shots that I needed.
Picking my way through the mass of crabs was difficult and time consuming. I
would pick a spot on the beach rocks, close to the action that I wanted to
film and I would crouch, kneel or lay down in order to get the shots. During
that time, crabs would crawl over my feet, hands, arms and legs and none of
them were interested in pinching.The photographer plans to study the crabs
incredible migratory patterns next year when the phenomenon takes place
again in August.
Crab close-up: Photographer Steve Simonsen said the crabs were crawling over
his arms and legs as he crouched on the beach to take his pictures
Migration: The hermit crabs release thousands of offspring into the sea
after making their journey to the water to mate
Annual event: The crab migration to the sea takes just one day
Carpet of crabs: The crustaceans were photographed on the tiny isle of St
John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Rare sight: Photographer Steve Simonsen, 53, captured the images of the mass
migration
Odyssey: The hermit crabs make their way across the rocky shore towards the
water to breed
See shells: The millions of migrating hermit crabs jostle for space as they
clamber over the rocks
Final destination: The migrating crabs have the waters of the Caribbean in
their sights
Fancy a dip?: Tourists pick their way among the scuttling crabs on the shore
of the island of St John
Local fauna: Hermit crabs are a common sight on St John, but mass migration
on this scale occurs just once a year
Astonishing: The hermit crab usually makes its home in a shell commandeered
from a West Indian top snail of whelk
Intrigued: Photographer Steve Simonsen plans to return to the island to
study the crabs migratory patterns further when the journey takes place
again next August |
