The Colossal Coconut Crab | South Pacific | BBC Earth 

Thank you BBC Earth for showing us folks who do not get the chance to travel see the wonders of this earth

During WW2 US Marines deployed to the South Pacific encountered these. To test the strength of their claws, a curious Marine handed one a wooden broom handle. The crab broke it easily. My uncle told us that story when I was a kid; we were thrilled.

Decapods, (crabs, lobsters, etc.) can generate the greatest force per LB of body mass with their claws of any group of animals. The most powerful of which is this coconut crab, while only weighing in at about ~10 pounds can lift over 66 pounds, and the pinch from their claws nearly matches a lions bite. (740 pound-force - a force about 90 times their own body weight) They are in the top 15 strongest bite forces in the animal kingdom.

In summer of 2017 i took a two month vacation in American Samoa. On the smaller three islands of Manua (Ofu, Olosega and Ta'u) i got the opportunity with a local man named Manaia to trap and capture coconut crabs called U'u in Samoan language pronounced (oo-oo). During the day we made the bait for the crabs by cracking in half coconuts and drilling a small hole with drill in each half. Running heavy gage electric wire through holes we then hiked up to the base of a cliff just outside the village in a thick grove of coconut palms. We located the crabs burrows by the piles of shredded coconut husks around entrance to burrows. If you don't see these piles of shredded husk nobody's home. Pick a spot to set the bait not too far away but not too close from burrows and tie the wire around trunks of small bushes. Then come back at around 2 am and very quietly retrace the path with a small flashlight making sure you keep light pointing to ground so not to startle the crab not talking or making any sound. Crabs can easily see the light of an approaching person and have a primitive sense of detecting sound. If they sense danger they will stop eating and go back to safety of their burrows. The trick is to sneak up on them. This is why the bait must be set away from their burrows and the wire is to prevent their claws from cutting through and dragging the bait back into their burrows. The local guy Manaia if a crab crawled back into its burrow he would reach his whole arm in and feel for crabs head and with a quick upward thrust of thumb through the mouth basically snapping its neck killing crab instantly. If this is not done the crabs fight for their lives by anchoring their legs in burrows where you will not pull them out! Also to avoid getting hand pinched and badly maimed these crabs claws are like bolt cutters and will sever a finger! Anyways after he filled a large rice sack we walked back down to his friends house and washed the crabs in the shower room. Its taboo in Samoa to speak a word during this whole time because the spirits might smell the crabs and follow you home causing bad luck to your household. The best time to hunt is right after a night time rain as the moisture is needed to keep their lungs so they can breathe better and have energy to crawl around. The crabs were brought back to the Asaga (ah-sang-ah) Inn on island of Ofu. The Asaga Inn is a family run tourist lodging and we feasted on coconut crabs on Fathers Day! The best part is the fatty tail. Because the crabs diet is mostly coconut their bodies store the coconut oil in the tail pad as a energy source like a camels hump. When crabs are cooked the fat turns into liquid oil and tastes just like coconut. Because the crabs are land crabs the meat is bland tasting so you dip the meat into the oil for seasoning instead of melted butter. Word of warning don't indulge in the crab tail oil though because, well how do i politly put it?....You will have to suddenly walk quickly to the toilet as the coconut crab has its revenge! Take a vacation to Samoa and you will have an experience of a lifetime!!! Any traveling you have feel free to comment and i will respond as soon as i can. Thx!

Now dats a big crab

At 1:20, subtitles are saying " Although these crimes are found throughout the Pacific" 😂

Well, Tamatoa hasn't always been this glam. I was a drab little crab once...

lmao the added sound effects get me every time

2:14 That's quite a feat! The next time I run 5K, I'll try carrying a coconut.

Saw these on Diego Garcia. They are utterly terrifying up close but luckily very slow and relatively shy.

The coconut crab isn't just partial to coconuts. Meat is also on the menu if the opportunity arises. I've seen a video of one maiming a nesting bird in a tree. The bird fell from the tree and couldn't fly as the crab had nipped at it's wing. The rest of the coconut crabs then closed in on the injured bird and proceeded to rip it to pieces while it was still alive. Nature can be very cruel. Anyone for crabsticks?!

That's one armoured tooled up beast

What a BEAUTIFUL SIGHT to wake up too! 🤩

This would be a good horror movie

Who are they robbing from? The coconuts belong to everyone. You keep your accusations to yourself!

And that kids is how Mounds bars are made.

Great stuff! Thank you.

A few shakes Is all it takes.

Utterly fascinating! More please...

I'll be back in two shakes of a crabs tail.

Absolutely gorgeous

They can smell as well as a bloodhound. BC they have a planktonic larval stage they can recolonize islands where they've been wiped out. Darwin mentioned how they could cut their way out of large biscuit tins.

Formidable power, but innocuous diet. A gigantic arboreal hermit!

Each time the name is said, the subtitles are different. First it was Rubber crab. Then Robber. Now Robert Crab??? Yikes... thanks auto generated subtitles...

Love these narratives!

Really amazing 👍

Hi and what dog breed is this?

"Robert Crabs" gotta love subtitles

Beautiful crabs.👍 BBC Earth. Thanks.

Groucho the crab saw Ms Earhart, sidled up to her and said..I'm gonna make Amelia

"the giant crustaceans seem to have filled the niche normally taken by medium sized mammals"

The film's footage makes the crab look giant

Great video as always mahalo for sharing

Thanks for knowledge

Nice collab video with BBC earth and Schaffrillas❤

Superb

What a fascinating creature 🥥🥥

It would be awesome to see one of those in person

awesome

I’ve seen these in aquariums and zoos. Very big!

It’s like a huge hermit can with no shell

I got crabs on an island once.

Nice narrative 👏🏾

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

Live recording of Mr. Coco

*C R A B P E O P L E*

Aloha and Mahalo. That was fascinating🦀🌊🌝.

Wow!

Wowwwww

That prehistoric spider tortoise will haunt my nightmares.

Bro, I would lose my ish if I saw a bunch of these coming towards me

That intro is straight out of a Horror movie :O

Sehr interessantes Video. Gruss Jürgen 🤠

Also to be found on Chumbe Island in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Amazing creatures you are welcome to visit us and meet these crustations.

the foley sounds really make me feel like i’m in the room with the foley artists

Imagine coming across one of these!

Ive seen this in equatorial guinea , malabo. When i was working in ampco.

Nice crab in ocean

“Exactly why robber crabs have grown so big is a mystery” no it isn’t, its a pretty standard case of Island gigantism, where the small size of an island means there are no predators, and thus animals no longer needing small size can grow to take advantage of having a greater mass.

Wow.

The narrator is Big Ben aka Dr Strange 😂❤

First quote: "crabs might not seem so unusual...." I beg to differ

Coconut rich in protein? Wrong. While it offers various nutritional benefits, such as healthy fats, fiber, and minerals, its protein content is relatively low. For example, 100 grams of raw coconut meat contains about 3.3 grams of protein. Therefore, it is not a significant source of protein compared to other foods like meat, dairy, legumes, or nuts.

Coconut Crabs can’t swim

KA-KA-NOT MEEELK! Purrrfect!

Amazing documentary . More video please about coconut crab I have 10 coconut crab as a pet I save money and slowy buy a from a sea food restaurant here in Malaysia its rare to find this living giant crab It's delicious tho. Juh slow steam them raw. They taste like prawn + lobster + coconut I love my monster crab 👻

That is one hell of an eviction notice from mother nature. 50 days to live and then if you fail, your task you are dead.

... I was in a great mood... But now I feel kind of 'crabby' ... 🦀 😜 🦀 ...

Good eating, too! Used to eat lots of them on Guam. When the moon is right, you see folk out looking for them in the evenings. The Sisters in Melesso used to set traps for them.

love this channel very much. sorry for the fact that there may be mistakes, I am writing through a translator)))

🦀 crab cakes!

Classic Benedict Cumberbatch voice.

Thank you, we just find one of secret about how to become giant, eating coconut🥥

I wonder if thats sound fx added when they show the clip of it climbing the tree

I think I found my therapy critter... Nice kitty.

Top

I have seen theses robber crabs on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. They are the sames species but the color is different.

Ayuyu

The feeling of holding those crab claws and eating them. Oh creepy!

Okay, who let the giant crabs out of ELDEN RING.

These crabs are good eats.

I find it so strange how they spend their entire life on land, but yeet their eggs into the ocean

Another BBC documentary mentioned that these giant crabs, known as Coconut Crabs, Robber crabs, etc. are actually mature hermit crabs. Don’t let that little critter in your tank/terrarium get too big! 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦

"crabs may not seem unusual." Literally the very nature of a crab is unusual.

is that Cumberbatch narration

I never heard of these crabs

a type of crab that stay on land, yet won't go for a swim. Interesting

Rubber crab, Robert crab, coconut crab, what is the real name google translate?

The Pacific Arboreal Octopus fails to beat it on mass, but is more interesting in complexity ( that did fool Conservapedia for quite some time and is referenced in Sir PTerry Pratchett's 'Nation').

Yum....my mouth was watering while watching this. Their meat must be sweet bc of their diet.

That looks like something out of a horror movie & they look horrific!

NEW VIDEO!!! I recently subscribed to you despite the fact that I don't know much English, I love this channel. Ukraine loves America!!!

Oh it’s Benadryl pumpkinpatch! Igotta find this full documentary

thought crabs lived under water. didn't know they could drown.

Imagine throwing your babies to the ocean never even knowing if they made it.

I wonder if these crabs have ever tried cracking open a bowling ball? They seem strong enough. This video is making me crave coconut water. Thanks, giant crabs.

Newborn baby😭😭

They taste really good!

1:22 they are as big as i thought

What if they don't have 50 days to find an island 😢 4:00