Three amazing facts about coconut crabs:
- Coconut crab front claws have a stronger pinch than any bite force in nature, including carnivores! During one study, researchers measured the pinching force of a coconut crab at around 1,800 Newton, which is around 183 kilograms (i.e. they could easily chop your finger off!)
- Female crabs can carry a clutch of eggs of up to 250,000 eggs depending on body size
- Coconut crabs are the largest land-living crabs in the world. Their presence indicates that a forest is intact and healthy.
These insights and many more interesting facts about the coconut crab can be found in our new awareness booklet which was produced by Lisa-Marie Gierse, a volunteer from the Deutsch-Tansanische Partnerschaft e.V. (DTP) supervised by Dr. Tim Caro and Ulrike Kloiber, the Chumbe Conservation Manager.
Ms Gierse was fascinated by the largest crab on earth and conducted hands-on research activities together with Chumbe Head Ranger including: fieldwork in the Chumbe Forest Reserve (catching, measuring, weighing and labeling coconut crabs), data entry and report writing.
Ms Gierse provided content for and co-developped our latest awareness booklet about coconut crabs (which you can download here: Crab Booklet, find in our bungalow information folders, or buy a printed copy in our island boutique).
Ms. Gierse also conducted ranger training sessions about the coconut crab on Chumbe Island and implemented an awareness talk and drawing competition in a Zanzibari school.
