What animal is special on Christmas Island?

What animal is special on Christmas Island? Red crabs - Gecarcoidea natalis Some 50 million red crabs live on Christmas Island – the only place in the world where they are found. These stunning creatures are extremely important to the island's rich biodiversity.

Are there crab like animals on Christmas Island?

Also known as the coconut crab, the robber crab is the world's biggest land crustacean. It can weigh more than 4 kg and measure up to a metre across. Christmas Island has the world's largest and best protected population of these gentle giants, which can live to be more than 50 years old.

What rare bird is on Christmas Island?

An internationally renowned seabird rookery, Christmas Island attracts about 80,000 nesting seabirds every year. These include the world's rarest booby and frigatebird.

What is the strange creature on Christmas Island?

Christmas Island red crabs are famous throughout Australia and the world for their bright red color and for their spectacular annual migration to the sea. Millions of crabs become rivers of red as they move from Christmas Island's interior rainforests to the ocean to breed and lay eggs.

What animals are found on Christmas Island?

What is the nickname of Christmas Island?

Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word Christmas written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, in which the combination ti is pronounced s, giving [ki'r?smæs].

Can you drink alcohol on Christmas Island?

That means you can score a great deal on popular duty-free items such as fragrances, leather goods, electronics, jewellery, watches and sunglasses. It also means Christmas Island has some of the cheapest alcohol in Australia – perfect for treating yourself to a beer or a gin and tonic as the sun goes down.

Is it expensive to live on Christmas Island?

Since the detention centre was built on the island in 2006, the island population of about 1,500 locals has jumped dramatically. Mr McDonald says the cost of living is now estimated at about 180 per cent above that on the mainland. An iceberg lettuce at the local store can cost as much as $12.

Can you swim on Christmas Island?

Swimming at beaches is only recommended at Flying Fish Cove under calm sea conditions.

How deep is Christmas Island?

Surrounding the island is a narrow tropical reef which plunges steeply to the ocean floor. Within 20 metres of the shoreline, you can find some of the steepest drop-offs in the world reaching a depth of about 500 metres within about 200 metres beyond the edge of the reef.

What is Christmas Island best known for?

This huge biodiversity means that Christmas Island is often referred to as 'the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean'. The island is also known as the kingdom of the crabs. You can see more than 20 different land crabs here, including the enormous robber crab.

Which creature moves in huge groups on Christmas Island?

Christmas Island's mass red crab migration is one of the most incredible natural processes on Earth. Every year, millions of these large crabs emerge from the forest and make their way to the ocean to breed, swarming across roads, streams, rocks and beaches.