As creepy as it may be, coconut crabs "hunting" in this manner--let alone being caught on film--is truly rare. I grew up hunting them with my brother as a kid, crawling along cliffs where they can often be found hiding, and in the jungle near beaches. They truly are an exotic delicacy (fruit bat and sea turtle are the only other things I've tried that come close on the exotic scale, the former being prepared in a similar manner)...which also means they don't live long lives outside of wildlife reserves due to being overhunted by indigenous peoples.
Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
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Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#22I saw this posted on Reddit and Facebook a while back and I can't really stand this whole "NOPE NOPE NOPE" culture we have where everything is judged by how icky it is.
And the top comments fight over who has the least tolerance for it.
I think it's a symptom of the broader topic of anti-intellectualism in our culture where reactions are more important than intrigue and exploration.
A video of a crab eating a bird might seem like a weird tipping point to have this moment but it's a video that I happened to see in four different places where the top comments were all the same mix of "well I'm never going near crabs again lol" and "nuke it from orbit lol" and "wish I hadn't seen this lol" and "I'll be sure to do my part to eat more crabs lol."
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#23Pretty amazing that the crab is smart enough to go for the wings first.
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#24Pretty amazing that the crab is smart enough to go for the wings first.
What's the first thing you grab when taking on a crab?
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#25Not only can that monstrous crab eat birds; it can crack coconuts open with its claws. That's why it's called the "coconut" crab. I wonder if it's ever attacked human beings -- you know, like people napping at the beach. Nature never ceases to amaze me. PS. If you enjoy reading about "odd" creatures, check out "WTF, evolution?" at https://wtfevolution.tumblr.com/
I've never read about them attacking people, but they will go after small pets and rummage through your trashcan. The biggest danger to humans is having one fall on you. They climb coconut trees to get to the coconuts, but being a little clumsy, fall out of the tree sometimes.
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Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#26Not only can that monstrous crab eat birds; it can crack coconuts open with its claws. That's why it's called the "coconut" crab. I wonder if it's ever attacked human beings -- you know, like people napping at the beach. Nature never ceases to amaze me. PS. If you enjoy reading about "odd" creatures, check out "WTF, evolution?" at https://wtfevolution.tumblr.com/
One of coworkers was pinched by a young, 1.5 cm long coconut crab still in a scavenged snail shell when we were at the beach in Kwajalean. But I know that's not what you meant.
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#27I saw this posted on Reddit and Facebook a while back and I can't really stand this whole "NOPE NOPE NOPE" culture we have where everything is judged by how icky it is. And the top comments fight over who has the least tolerance for it. I think it's a symptom of the broader topic of anti-intellectualism in our culture where reactions are more important than intrigue and exploration. A video of a crab eating a bird mi…
those are pretty much tongue and cheek. how often is anyone near a crab that's not in captivity or that you're about to eat?
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#28I saw this posted on Reddit and Facebook a while back and I can't really stand this whole "NOPE NOPE NOPE" culture we have where everything is judged by how icky it is. And the top comments fight over who has the least tolerance for it. I think it's a symptom of the broader topic of anti-intellectualism in our culture where reactions are more important than intrigue and exploration. A video of a crab eating a bird mi…
those are pretty much tongue and cheek. how often is anyone near a crab that's not in captivity or that you're about to eat?
> those are pretty much tongue and cheek.
I believe the expression you are looking for is “tongue-in-cheek”.
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#29Has anyone seen the whole video? To clarify/calm down my paranoid mind of a staged crab attack to a bird whose wing was broken earlier possibly by humans and so that we have full proof beyond social media cuts. ? ps: red footed boobies don't seem to avoid those islands: https://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/seabirds-chagos-islan...
The crabs are nocturnal the birds are not! The footage shows it was in the night
Re: Giant coconut crabs feed on birds (2017)
#30I find spiders quite freaky, yet I find crabs quite endearing. This strikes me as very odd. ps. Ive been actively trying to overcome my aversion to spiders by handling them when I put them out. Starting with very tiny ones and working my way up.
Aversion to spiders more likely to save your life and allow you to pass on genes, makes sense.
Not necessarily. If you live in an area with spiders, you probably also have mosquitoes and all kinds of other insect disease vectors. Having a nice spider would go a long ways to keeping those vectors down.