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.
Tensions from the Russia-Ukraine war have spilled into space. The head of Russia's space agency has threatened to pull the country out of the International Space Station if sanctions aren't lifted on the country — but that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon. What would it mean if Russia really did leave the ISS, who would it harm the most, and what would the consequences be both for the other ISS partners, and private space travel? Casey Dreier, Chief Advocate & Senior Space Policy Adviser at The Planetary Society, joins Closing Bell to discuss.
Almost every industry now uses online shopping and ordering, but some products require a different packing material, and many times, shipping products can be wasteful. TemperPack aims to solve both issues with its ClimaCell liners, which you might recognize if you have ever ordered a meal subscription kit. Brian Powers, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer at TemperPack, joins Closing Bell to discuss TemperPack's ClimaCell liners, the company's sustainability mission, its corporate customer base, and more.
Bees are responsible for the bulk of fruit and vegetable pollination — and they're negatively being affected by climate change. Tech startup Beewise is offering a solution with artificial intelligence to create robotic, autonomous hives to help the vulnerable bee populations. Saar Safra, co-founder & CEO, joined Cheddar News to talk about the company's recent $80 million to help make this project possible. "Our solution is not only hardware," he said. "Its software and biology all in one device. That's the challenge, and that's what sets us apart."
Space tourism continues to be generating buzz after the most recent Blue Origin launch. Two of its passengers made history as the first married couple to travel to space. The couple, Marc Hagle, CEO at Tricor, and Sharon Hagle, CEO at Spacekids Global, joined Cheddar News fresh off of their trip to talk about their experience and future space travel plans. "If there is a Santa Claus, we’ll have the opportunity to fly with Virgin Galactic, and maybe we'll have the opportunity to fly with SpaceX," said Marc Hagle, followed by Sharon explaining they had already signed up with Virgin Galactic about 15 years ago.
The metaverse may be the next big thing in the music world. Cheddar News’ Michelle Castillo sat down with Jon Vlassopulos, VP and head of music at Roblox, to discuss virtual concerts and more.
The head of Russia’s space program says the future of the ISS hangs in the balance after the U.S., EU, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 4, 2022, with reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, a weekend shooting in Sacramento killing six and injuring 12, Mexico ending its gas subsidization for U.S. drivers, and the University of South Carolina winning the women's NCAA basketball championship, and more.
Peter Zalzal, associate vice president for clean air strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, joined Cheddar to discuss the Biden Administration's unveiling of stricter fuel-efficiency standards for new automobiles. "The administration estimated that these rules will reduce about 2.5 billion tons of climate pollution by 2050, and using less fuel also means that we have to go to the gas pump less often. And so it means we save money, thousands of dollars in avoided fuel costs each year for consumers," he noted.
A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers.
Between Bells EP Conor White recaps some of the biggest stories of the week, while Baker Machado and Hena Doba test their knowledge, and maybe learn a thing or two. It's This Week in Trivia!
