Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2018-10-17

Autumn is the mating season for the coconut crab, the world’s largest land-based crab. But crabs in southern Taiwan face deadly risks as they make their way to the sea to spawn.

Kenting National Park on southern Taiwan’s Hengchun Peninsula is a popular vacation hotspot and also home to many species of land-based crabs. July to October is the mating season for the coconut crab, which mates on land before the female goes down to the sea to release her eggs.

Here lies the problem, as getting to the beach may mean crossing a road. Conservationists have been dismayed to find that at least seven coconut crabs, a protected species, have been killed by vehicles in the past two weeks.    [FULL  STORY]