Crabs cross a road in Giron, Cuba, Sunday, April 10, 2022. Millions of crabs emerge at the beginning of the spring rains and start a journey to the waters of the Bay of Pigs to spawn in a yearly migration. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Every year in Cuba, millions of crabs emerge from the forest at the beginning of the spring rains and head for the waters of the Bay of Pigs, crossing streets and highways on a perilous journey to mate and reproduce.
Now underway, the migration causes concern to drivers who try to swerve in an often futile attempt not to kill the crustaceans. The crabs are a nuisance to residents but the sight of their road-crossing is a wonder for tourists and other first-time onlookers.
“They got here before us,” said Amaury Urra, a 50-year-old hiking guide who spent his entire life in this part of the Ciénega de Zapata, the largest wetland in the Caribbean, particularly picturesque for the backdrop of turquoise sea waters and the coastal cliffs. ″We’re used to this.″
“Where I live, which is in the center of the town of Girón, the crabs don’t get there as much,″ though there are plenty on the outskirts, he said.
Located about 180 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Havana, the area was the scene of a 1961 failed invasion by Cuban exiles who signed up for a covertly CIA-funded operation to overthrow Fidel Castro.
This year, the crabs started their journey early. At the end of March, the municipal authorities issued a warning to drivers to avoid traveling in the morning and evening hours - the favorite crossing times for the crabs. Environmentalists usually demand the closure of the main road, especially at key migration times.
The passage of the red crustaceans — the species is called gecarcinus ruricola — could last until July. The largest amount of traffic occurs between April and May. Residents have to be careful: When the crabs feel threatened, they can puncture car tires with their pincers.
Official figures estimate that some 3.5 million crabs die each season on the road, many crushed by passing vehicles. They take a minute and a half to cross.
This type of crab lives and migrates in the Bahamas, Nicaragua, Jamaica and Dominica. But only here, and perhaps in another sector of the coast towards the neighboring province of Cienfuegos, does its path collide so dramatically with human traffic.
Brightseed Co-Founder Sofia Elizondo breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Brightseed Co-Founder breaks down what plant bioactives are, and how they're using the latest technology to study human's biological connections with plants; Esper Bionics CEO breaks down how they re creating a mind-controlled bionic hand that guest smarter the more you use it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Capturing A Black Hole In Our Milky Way.'
Hilary Kearney, Founder of Girl Next Door Honey, joined Closing Bell to discuss her partnership with Comvita to save the important pollinators, as bee colonies are on the decline across the United States.
Hurricane climatologist Jill Trepanier joined Cheddar News to discuss NOAA's announced prediction for an above-normal hurricane season and what it might mean for people in the United States. "I think it's important that people who maybe haven't been used to having extreme weather events related to say tropical cycles and tropical systems, like thinking New Jersey, Northeastern seaboard, that area may get more action than they're used to in the past," she said.
Dr. Jarrad Aguirre, Co-Founder and CEO of Miga Health, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says his company is looking to establish the future of heart health and points to how 80% of premature heart attacks and strokes are preventable.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, David Keith, Professor of Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and founder of Carbon Engineering outlines the viability of solar geoengineering as a solution to help reverse the effects of global warming; Lena Geraghty, Sustainability & Urban Innovation Director at National League of Cities, discusses which U.S. cities are safest from global warming and how the real estate market will be impacted from the effects of climate change; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Changing Ocean Asia.'
David Keith, Professor of Applied Physics at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and founder of Carbon Engineering joins Cheddar Reveals to outline the viability of solar geoengineering as a solution to help reverse the effects of global warming.
Lena Geraghty, Sustainability & Urban Innovation Director at National League of Cities, joins Cheddar News to discuss which U.S. cities are safest from global warming and how the real estate market will be impacted from the effects of climate change.
Peggy Whitson, Director of Human Space Flight, Axiom Space, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss Axiom's involvement in the first fully-private mission to the ISS, and her experience spending 665 days in space.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates, Peggy Whitson, Director of Human Space Flight, Axiom Space, breaks down Axiom's involvement in the first fully-private mission to the ISS, and her experience spending 665 days in space; William Li and Danielle Chang, co-founders of The Hao Life, discuss how they're shaking up the $71 billion supplement industry by putting a modern spin on traditional natural Chinese remedies; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Sagrada Familia: Gaudi's Challenge.'
