Decorator
Crabs are amazing creatures that glue sponges on their backs and legs to make
them indistinguishable from their surroundings.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Decorator-Crab
Last Sunday during a dive at Chowder Bay we found a Decorator Crab entangled in fishing line. At first sight it appeared to be already deceased, but when I picked it up, trying to get the fishing line off, it firmly grabbed my glove.
The line was too entangled to get rid of it under water, so I decided to give the crab a ride to the shore to see if we could free him there. As it was only 30 minutes or so into our dive, the crab hitch hiked on my hand for the rest of the dive.
When we got out of the water I undid my gloves and gently got rid of the fishing line, which was not at all easy. It didn't help that it was freezing cold as the sun had almost disappeared and an icy wind was blowing along the shore. But after a few minutes he was free and Ray put the crab back on one of the jetty poles.
Apart from missing some legs, he looked pretty happy again. As far as a crab can look happy that is...
See Chowder Bay Jetty for some more photos.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Decorator-Crab
Last Sunday during a dive at Chowder Bay we found a Decorator Crab entangled in fishing line. At first sight it appeared to be already deceased, but when I picked it up, trying to get the fishing line off, it firmly grabbed my glove.
The line was too entangled to get rid of it under water, so I decided to give the crab a ride to the shore to see if we could free him there. As it was only 30 minutes or so into our dive, the crab hitch hiked on my hand for the rest of the dive.
When we got out of the water I undid my gloves and gently got rid of the fishing line, which was not at all easy. It didn't help that it was freezing cold as the sun had almost disappeared and an icy wind was blowing along the shore. But after a few minutes he was free and Ray put the crab back on one of the jetty poles.
Apart from missing some legs, he looked pretty happy again. As far as a crab can look happy that is...
See Chowder Bay Jetty for some more photos.
