The Playa Las Tortugas Crab Migration
Every June, when the air turns humid, the blue land crabs emerge from their inland underground burrows and begin their migration to the sea in Playa Las Tortugas.
Blue Crab Migration.
Thousands of crabs make their way through the Playa Las Tortugas gardens. It’s quite a spectacle. It’s a difficult journey as many predators will hunt them including hawks, raccoons and people.
Making their way to the sea.
Blue land crabs spend the dry season safe in underground burrows. Once summer humidity arrives it’s safe for them to emerge and head to the ocean to lay their eggs.
Learn More About Blue Crabs
The crab migration in Playa Las Tortugas lasts a few weeks. The exact timing is difficult to predict, but June 15th is a good reference point for the beginning.
You will see them walking across the grass, and if you peer into the gardens you will see even more. When you approach them they will make a defensive display. Raising their claws, ready to do battle.
When the weather turns humid the crabs emerge from their burrows, which can be several kilometers from the ocean. the males perform elaborate mating dances. They mate. And then the female carries the fertilized eggs, as many as 500,000 to the ocean.
You can imagine this phenomenon accounts for a major transfer of energy within the ecosystem. The crabs are like the clean-up crew of the forest floor, eating all sorts of vegetation. The crabs themselves become food for predators. And when the females release their eggs, those become food for fish as well.
It’s critical not to disrupt the migration, place manmade obstacles in their way, or take more than a few crabs for eating.