Christmas Island is a small territory in the Indian Ocean, without its own government, belonging to Australia. It is located 2,360 km north-west of Perth, the capital of Australia, and 500 km south of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. British and Dutch navigators first included the island on their itineraries in the 17th century. Captain William Mynors, who was the captain of a British East India Company ship, gave the island its name in 1643 when he anchored here on Christmas Day itself. The first map to include Christmas Island is one drawn up and published by Pieter Goos in 1666, but he called it, for some reason, 'Mony'.
The island, shaped like a quadrangle with hollow sides, is about 19 km long at its longest point and 14.5 km wide at its widest point, with a total land area of 135 km². The island is the flat foot of a seamount which is about 4,500 m deep and 300 m above sea level. The mountain was originally a volcano. Some basalt rocks are exposed, but most of the surface rocks are limestone, which has accumulated from coral growth over millions of years. The steep cliffs along most of the coast give way suddenly to a central plateau, covered by rainforest, 63% of which is National Park. Christmas Island has around 1500 inhabitants and the ethnic composition is 70% Chinese, 20% European and 10% Malaysian. The religions practised are Buddhism 67%, Christianity 11%, Islam 10% and others 2%. The official language is English, but Chinese and Malay are also spoken.
Every year, in October-November, around 50 million adult red crabs begin their journey to the shore, in perfect synchronization all over the island. Males lead the first wave of the procession, being overtaken by females as they advance. Because of the rain and the wet and rugged terrain, the red crabs take about 5-7 days to cover the 7-8 kilometers to the shore. Their large numbers and bright red shells make them visible from the air.
After mating, the females lay their eggs in small burrows on the seabed, from which the larvae hatch into baby crabs only 5 millimeters long. After about a month in the water, the young crabs, accompanied by adults, make the long journey back home. Once they reach the center of the island, these young disappear for the next three years into the dense vegetation and fallen twigs on the forest floor.
The presence of man and his activities - tree cutting, road building, car traffic - means that every year a number of crabs die during their annual migration. So some crabs risk dehydration when they have to pass through deforested areas, while others risk being crushed by vehicles when crossing a road. To protect them, the caretakers of Christmas Island National Park are temporarily closing some roads and putting up road signs on others warning: "Watch out, crabs coming through!". In other areas, fences are erected to direct them onto a safe path, and even bridges over which the little creatures can cross safely. As well as preserving this unique species, there is a practical justification for investing in these protection measures: the red crab migration has become a major tourist attraction in recent years.
Amazing Red Crab Migration
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