Hello Mr.Krabs ((Horn eyed Ghost crab - Oxypode Brevicornis)

Say Hello to Mr. Krabs!! My first post will be on crabs. 

“Why crabs?” you may ask…

Well, the thing I love about my city, Chennai, is its beautiful beaches. I feel lucky to be living within walking distance to the beautiful Thiruvanmiyur beach. 

Walking to the beach and spending time here is sort of a daily ritual for me and my friends. It is such an important part of our lives that when the government closed down the beach during the COVID 19 lockdown, we suffered from intense separation anxiety!

But it occurred to me recently, that in so many years of frequenting this beach, I have not taken any effort to observe the other living and non living beings that I share this beautiful beach with.

So, the other morning, after my walk, I just sat down in the Sandy stretch of the beach close to the waves.

What caught my attention were a whole lot of crabs, crawling and running in front of me.

I was so intrigued that I ended up spending some time just watching them.

Here is what I saw:

• They were found everywhere in huge numbers in the intertidal zone - where the waves hit the sand and wash away.
• They are brilliantly camouflaged. Their body is in the exact shade as the sand - so much that I initially had to squint a little to get my eyes get used to spotting them.
• Every now and then, they bury themselves and disappear into the holes (burrows) in the sand. After a while, they emerge out of their burrows, swiftly run in all directions and once again, before the next wave hits the shore, they quickly return back to their home. They do not venture too far away from their own burrows. They keep doing this routine with such synchronicity that it is almost like a dance to watch.(Question: Why do they do this? How do they know to hide just seconds before a wave comes?)
• Their eyes are protruding up longitudinally like antennas. Their bodies face the land side with their backs to the Ocean. It felt like they were looking curiously at me:)
• They can run with equal ease in all possible directions - but majority of their movement is sideways, even though their gaze is fixed to the front. In other words, they do not need to ‘see’ where they are going. They just seem to know exactly!
• Each crab keeps to its own burrow. “Thy may not enter the hole of thy neighbour” seems to be the cardinal rule.

In order to get a good picture, I had to identify a crab fairly close to where I was seated. 

But the problem was that they get really scared and on even the slightest movement they retreat back into their burrows. 

So, I learned to stay very very still, armed with my phone camera - ready to click. All my yoga and meditation practice should have come in handy now! Finally, I managed to get some decent pictures.

Learning : The quieter we become, animals start trusting us more, When they do not see us as a threat they start revealing themselves to us. And maybe even allow us to enter their world. 

All that we need to do is - Be still, not mess with them in any way and just wait patiently.

My journey with Mr. Krabs continues. Stay tuned!