Thousands of baby red crabs turn a street on Christmas Island crimson, as the unique creatures make their way from mainland after being born in the sea.
Truly spectacular video shows the tiny species, local to Christmas Island, walking by the thousands through a residential area.
The result of their migration onto land is a rare visual experience but the sound of them overrunning the street creates a pattering equally memorizing.
Born in the sea, a lot of years the red crab larvae do not survive the ocean’s fickle conditions – but when they do, they move together to where their parents live in one of Christmas Island’s forests.
The red crab is one of 14 land crabs that live on Christmas Island, where it prefers to hide in the shade or wet soil.
It is estimated that between 40 and 50million of the species live on Christmas Island, their mating season dependent on both the rain and lunar cycles.
Their annual migration, therefore, varies every year – this year, according to tourism sites, its expected in either mid-November or December.
Once born, the baby red crab makes a nine-day journey back to its parents on the Island, braving attack from predators such as the yellow crazy ant.
The baby red crab, pictured, needs to survive the oceans fierce conditions and predators like the yellow crazy ant
The video shows the tiny species, local to Christmas Island, walking by the thousands through a residential area, pictured
Thousands walking at once make a pattering sound similar to rain, as the baby red crabs make their way to the centre of the island, pictured
It can take the baby red crabs up to nine days to travel from where they were born in the ocean to their parents location, somewhere in the forest
It is estimated that between 40 and 50million of the species live on Christmas Island, their mating season dependent on both the rain and lunar cycles
The red crab is one of 14 land crabs that live on Christmas Island, where it prefers to hide in the shade or wet soil