The coconut crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief, is a truly fascinating creature. As their name suggests, these large land crabs have a proclivity for coconuts, using their massive claws to crack open and devour the nutritious fruits. Getting a glimpse of a coconut crab in the wild is a rare and memorable experience. Capturing a high quality photograph of one of these elusive giants takes time, patience, and a bit of luck.
In this article, we’ll explore tips and techniques for photographing coconut crabs based on an analysis of numerous stock images. With the right approach, you can add your own unique pictures of these incredible crustaceans to your personal portfolio or stock photography collection.
Before delving into photography, it helps to understand the basics of coconut crab biology and behavior. Coconut crabs are the largest land-dwelling arthropods in the world. They can grow to over 3 feet wide from leg to leg and weigh up to 9 pounds. Their natural habitat ranges from coastal tropical regions to far inland rainforests across the Indo-Pacific.
Coconut crabs spend most of their time on land only briefly venturing into the ocean as larvae before returning to terra firma. As juveniles they will carry discarded seashells for protection, but lose the need for portable shelter as their exoskeletons toughen with age.
These opportunistic omnivores will eat just about anything, including fruits, nuts, seeds, carrion, and other small animals. Their massive claws can exert an incredible 1,000 pounds per square inch of force, enabling them to crack open coconuts, their preferred food source.
Understanding where coconut crabs live, how they move, and what they eat helps photographers determine the best locations and techniques for capturing them on camera.
Scouting the Perfect Location
The first step to photographing coconut crabs is identifying promising locations. When analyzing stock images, coastal beaches prove to be particularly productive places to spot these unusual creatures. Coconut crabs abound on tropical islands throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with popular photography destinations including:
- Christmas Island (Australia)
- Cook Islands
- Fiji
- Hawaii (Maui, Oahu)
- Seychelles
- Vanuatu
On land, look for areas with an abundance of vegetation and fallen fruits. Coconut crabs are adept climbers and will scale trees and rocky cliffs in search of food. Palm groves and rainforests are fertile hunting grounds.
In coastal regions, scout the high tide line where coconuts may accumulate. Coconut crabs will actively hoard and bury coconuts here to feast on later. Setting up near their stored food supplies increases the odds of an encounter.
Always respect local regulations regarding interacting with or capturing wildlife. Some areas limit access or prohibit flash photography which can startle animals. Research the laws in advance to ensure your photographic excursion doesn’t have a harmful impact.
Timing Your Shots
Patience and good timing is key to getting close to reclusive coconut crabs. They are most active at night, so setting up lighting and camping out until the wee hours can yield dramatic photos.
During daylight hours, quietly stake out places where coconut crabs are likely to forage. Wait for them to emerge from jungle burrows or beach hideaways before pouncing with your camera.
If actively tracking a moving crab, match their pace and movements so as not to startle them. Sudden motions will cause them to freeze or hastily retreat out of picture range.
When the moment is right, gently click the shutter and continue shooting as the crab moves into intriguing positions. With luck and composure, you can come away with a series of excellent images.
Composing Your Shots
Coconut crabs make such fascinating photographic subjects precisely because of their otherworldly size and features. When composing shots, take advantage of their unique anatomy to create striking images:
Highlight the Eyes – Coconut crabs have jet black eyes at the end of eyestalks. Use tight framing and shallow depth of field to draw focus to these dark rounded peepers peering out from a blurry veil of legs and claws.
Emphasize the Claws – Their massive crusher claws are an unmistakable signature. Capture them prominently in frame, arranging diagonally for dynamic impact. Low and upward angles make the pincers look all the more imposing.
Scale with Coconuts – Adding coconuts provides a familiar object for scale. If you’re lucky enough to catch a crab cracking one open, be sure to highlight the action in frame. Even placing an intact coconut nearby demonstrates these crustaceans’ tree climbing prowess.
Maximize Legs and Locomotion – Spread legs splayed in every direction show off the crab’s impressive breadth. Try capturing lateral motion for a sense of speed and otherworldliness. Position the body at angles for multi-dimensional interest.
Essential Photography Gear & Settings
Photographing such a challenging subject requires specialized gear and camera settings to get tack-sharp, well-exposed images:
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Interchangeable lens camera – DSLR or mirrorless models allow swapping optics for maximum flexibility.
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Telephoto zoom lens – A long lens in the 70-200mm range lets you keep distance from skittish crabs while still framing tight shots.
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Macro lens – Switch to macro for close-up details of claws, eyes, and other features. Look for at least 1:1 magnification.
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Tripod – Shooting at night or in dense jungle calls for a sturdy tripod and remote shutter release to prevent blurry images.
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External flash – Add a flash unit and diffuser for filling in shadows at night or in dark rainforest environments.
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Fast shutter speed – Use a fast shutter speed (1/500s or higher) to freeze crab movements and avoid motion blur on legs and claws.
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Narrow aperture – Closing down the aperture gives more depth of field to keep extremities in focus. Try f/8 or narrower.
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Low ISO – Shoot at base ISO (typically 100-200) for maximum image quality, especially when using flash.
Post-Processing to Perfection
The final step is editing your photos to fully enhance these exotic creatures. Post-processing allows sharpening details, brightening shadows, and bringing out vibrant colors inherent to coconut crabs:
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Sharpen eyes and claws – Use targeted sharpening on the eyes and tips of pincers to make them really pop.
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Saturate colors – Coconut crabs exhibit beautiful hues ranging from red and orange to deep blues. Bump up saturation to accentuate their neat coloration.
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Brighten shadows – Lifting shadows reduces the encroaching darkness of dense jungle or nighttime backgrounds to properly expose crabs.
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Crop creatively – Try different cropped ratios to focus on specific elements like just the claw or eyes. Cropping in tighter magnifies their formidable appearance.
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Add dramatic tones – Experiment with black and white, split toning, or selective color for an artistic spin on traditional crab photography.
With practice and persistence, you can add incredible coconut crab photos to your portfolio. Now that you know where to go, how to interact, ideal camera gear, and post-processing tricks, you’ll be ready to capture these charismatic creatures on your next tropical photography adventure. Just don’t lose patience or hope – these photo opportunities are infrequent but worthwhile for those with drive and passion.
What is a coconut crab?
To say that coconut crabs are big would be an understatement.
“Theyre a mega-crab, really,” explains Miranda Lowe, our Principal Curator of Crustacea. “They range, but they can be huge – up to a metre leg span.”
They’re not quite the worlds largest crab – that would be the Japanese spider crab, Macrocheira kaempferi, which can reach a whopping 3.7 metres from claw to claw.
But the coconut crab is the largest crustacean that spends all its adult life on land, with a Guinness World Record to prove it. It’s also the biggest land-dwelling arthropod, the group of invertebrates that also includes insects, spiders and centipedes.
Coconut crabs can live up to 60 years, reaching sexual maturity at about five years old. They mate between May and September and females release their eggs into the water.
When they hatch, the larvae disperse on floating coconuts, logs or other rafts for four to six weeks. They then transform into shrimplike creatures called glaucothoe and sink to the seabed to find a suitable gastropod shell for protection. They will then begin to migrate towards the shore, spending another four weeks around the high-tide mark before they become juvenile crabs.
Adult coconut crabs don’t use shells. Instead rely on their tough exoskeleton to protect them from predators.
Although they spend their multiple larval stages in water, when coconut crabs eventually become adults, they can’t swim. In fact, they drown if they end up underwater for a prolonged period. This is because instead of gills, they have branchiostegal lungs that allow them to breathe air.
Coconut crabs are found across the Indo-Pacific, from islands off the coast of Africa near Zanzibar to the Gambier Islands in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. They’re typically found in coastal forests with plenty of rock crevices and soil for digging burrows. On some islands, they can be found up to six kilometres from the shore.
What do coconut crabs eat?
Their name might give it away, but coconut crabs are known for cracking into green coconuts to feast on the white flesh inside.
“Their walking legs are kind of curved and clawlike, and they have an inward grip so they can climb palm trees and other trees,” explains Miranda.
Coconuts aren’t all they’ll munch on, however. Coconut crabs will eat fallen fruit, nuts and seeds.
Perhaps unexpectedly for crabs, they’re also rather ruthless predators.
“Most other crabs live exclusively on the water’s edge or in the ocean and their food source is dead animals – marine worms, the flesh of other dead crabs, that sort of thing. They’re not exactly vicious hunters.”
Coconut crabs, however, will hunt rats, other coconut crabs and even large migratory seabirds, such as boobies that they find nesting on their islands. They’ve been spotted mounting attacks in the dark of the night and grabbing unsuspecting prey that pass too close to the crabs’ burrows.
Miranda says, “it’s an adaptation because of their food source. On land, some of the time they have to find something else other than coconuts.”
Coconut crabs’ broad diets have even led some to suggest that the reason famed aviator Amelia Earhart was never found when she disappeared mid-flight over the Pacific Ocean in 1937, was because she was devoured by coconut crabs after perishing on Nikumaroro island.
The Colossal Coconut Crab | South Pacific | BBC Earth
FAQ
Is it okay to eat a coconut crab?
Yes, people do eat coconut crabs. They are considered a delicacy in some regions, particularly on islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Coconut crabs have a rich, sweet flavor and are often prepared by boiling, grilling, or baking.
Are coconut crabs legal in the US?
Long story short, someone showed me a coconut crab for sale and the wikipedia says it’s a threatened species. Endangered Species Act says possessing a threatened species is a Class C Felony.
How big is a full grown coconut crab?
Adult coconut crabs are about 1 metre (40 inches) from leg tip to leg tip and weigh about 4.5 kg (10 pounds).