Man Grabs Crab From Beach, Only To Realize What It Really Is

confused by his reaction Mark slowly put his phone down and turned around from the corner of his eye he saw another claw swing towards him it was huge and lined with sharp spikes his heart pounded at the sight of them what on Earth were they but before we start smash the like button and make sure to subscribe if you haven't and hit that notification Bell so that you won't miss any new stories it was another beautiful morning for 32-year-old Mark Pier as he got ready to go on a hike with his friend David they planned

to find a secret hot spring hidden within the Christmas Island national park for as long as Mark could remember he loved to explore nature however he had no idea that one day his passion would lead him to this shocking Discovery despite its winter themed name Christmas Island is actually a small tropical island in the Indian Ocean between Indonesia and Australia Mark moved to the Island 3 years ago adding one more person to its population of about 1,400 people he didn't initially intend to stay for long but he fell in love with the place little did

he know the incredible secret it was hiding Mark woke up early to another beautiful sunny day on Christmas Island he got dressed and poured coffee already looking forward to the fun Saturday he had planned with David he quickly ate breakfast and left with his bag packed and his face beaming he was completely unaware that his day wouldn't turn out quite like he had planned it in his head as soon as Mark met David they headed out on their adventure to find the hot spring that the locals told them about it was the Island's best kept

secret and only the people who stayed on the island long enough were told about its location mark saw it as a right of passage but there was nothing right about what he'd soon encounter it was about an hour into their walk along the coastline the winding path was flanked with Lush vibrant vegetation and towering Mossy trees then just ahead Mark saw a large Rock blocking their way it stuck out like a sore thumb for several reasons the placement was weird who would set the walkway planks all the way to the large obstacle instead of going

around it or why not remove the boulder entirely also the wood slats seemed to fit around it perfectly maybe it was a special feature or rare mineral one thing for certain was it was quite lovely the bright blues and earthy Browns set off a light bulb in his head something he probably shouldn't do but the idea was too good to pass up even a tiny part of the stone would make a beautiful necklace charm there was one spiky piece that looked like it would be easy to snap off shove in his pocket and be on

their way Mark reached down his fingers barely grazing the surface something moved he gave the surface a light tap all of a sudden the entire irely thing shifted somehow got bigger and scurried into the Brush Mark let out an echoing Yelp and jumped back tumbling off the pathway and into the dirt that was no Boulder his friend whipped around what's wrong Mark pointed to a clump of thick vegetation it moved the rock thing moved David looked between the greenery and his friend like Mark had just sprouted five heads and started quoting Shakespeare the shock fizzled

away and was replaced with an overwhelming sense of curiosity he had to find out what it was Mark crept to the spot where the thing had escaped pulling the low hanging branches out of the way there in the shadows was something that could have crept into anyone's nightmares long legs with Jagged spikes poked out of a hard bug-like body Mark froze again praying it didn't latch onto his face and lay eggs in his stomach it moved again a huge claw appeared the movements were jarring and erratic like a scared robot backed into a corner his

reaction wasn't the most intelligent more like a curious child finding something new he grabbed a stick and tried to poke it the claw opened it latched onto the wood and snapped it clean in half mark scuttled backwards not wanting the same thing to happen to his hand David jumped to the other side of the path his eyes as wide as marks the foolish poking however gave them a good look at the creature it can't be he said recalling an old memory and reaching for his phone he had looked this up online to be sure its

big boulder-like shells swayed under the green canopy of leaves it looked like a crab spider an alien had a baby Mark had seen large crustations before but they had only been about the size of something you would find at speciality Japanese seafood market or at Red Lobster it couldn't be a crab it had to be something entirely different its shell was a mesmerizing display of colors after getting a better look he saw Hues of orange red blue and black its huge legs grew out from its body in an impressive show of evolution and strength Mark

crept closer until he was right next to the creature and could get it framed in the camera lens it looks like something out of the dinosaur age or something David commented still keeping his distance there were creatures on Earth who were older than humans could dream or whose species had survived longer than imaginable was this one of them prehistoric crabs dated back to 95 million years ago Mark remembered reading about their Extinction when he was younger but more importantly he remembered their strange features he took note of its huge size bent claws big eyes that

had no sockets and leg-like mouth his heart started to pound another bit of trivia pulled at his brain in 2019 scientists in America America discovered a fossil of this prehistoric crab its species is called Calimera perplexa which translates to perplexing beautiful chimira this is due to its vibrant colors and unique appearance was he really witnessing the reappearance of a lost species there was only one way to find out he took a deep breath reached out and grabbed it by the back of the body I didn't squirm as much as he had expected but it really

didn't like to be picked up Mark called called for his friend to take a photo of him and his new buddy his friend called him insane but still snapped a picture there were only two places it made sense to send the photo one to his social media and the other to an expert he scrambled with the email attachment and hit send like his life depended on it sure he had found a long lost species if not the ancient Calimera perplexa he quickly called the National Park Center the online interest immediately exploded but what viewers Halfway

Around the World had no idea about was that there was something else hidden nearby something that would soon show itself and make the two men want to run for their lives the photo landed with crab expert Max Orchard spent over 22 years on Christmas Island National Park working with World leading researchers you see Christmas Island was something of an anomaly when it came to the numerous different species of crab that live there for Orchard discovering a new species on Christmas Island wasn't too farfetched so the email immediately got him excited because of his profession Orchard

knew that de Extinction was possible also known as species revivalism this is the process where scientists can generate an organism that either resembles or is the exact extinct species if this wasn't a case of De Extinction Mark could have found a rare and endangered species although it's easy to think humans have discovered every creature on earth that's simply and sometimes surprisingly not that case meanwhile Mark and David were about to get the scare of their lives don't move dude David choked confused by his reaction Mark looked around and quickly spotted the source of his friend's

fear they weren't alone another one scurried out of the bushes a meter long claw swung at them Mark yelled and dropped his phone the two men raced onto a massive Stone to get away from the swaying clicking creature Crees hoping the boulder they escaped to wasn't also another massive animal in Disguise there they sat for hours waiting for Max Orchard to arrive when Max Orchard came to the scene Mark pointed him to the creatures that lay close them with a smile and loud laugh Max Orchard told Mark that he knew exactly what they were they

were coconut crabs a species of crab that have lived on Christmas Island for decades but Mark had picked one up was he in danger the biggest one I've seen is about 4.5 kg and about 1 M across Orchard said no one really knows for sure how old they are the 2 to 3 Kg crabs are about 50 years old he told Mark that they are a gigantic cousin to the water-based hermit crab that we all know and love then he asked Mark to show him his hands although many people wouldn't have dared to pick up

one of these giant crabs they are actually friendly Giants Orchard made sure that Mark didn't have any Cuts otherwise a tetanus shot may be required as with all Cuts you may get from Wildlife although Mark's hands were fine Orchard did warn him of something else Orchard told him that they have a tendency to steal he pointed to his phone that was now firmly within the claws of one of the crabs gently Orchard grabbed the phone from the unassuming thief and explain their odd behavior to steal and Crush whatever unfortunate locals and tourists may have left

behind behind they were basically like raccoons or mischievous monkeys at least in the way they NAB things another term would be incorrigible kleptomaniacs they have been known to steal Cutlery pots and pans bottles of alcohol shoes camp stoves machetes wrist watches and countless other objects the reason is actually pretty simple it's a survival Instinct they don't want to wait around and eat in places the Predators could be lurking so they do something in interesting and annoying they grab anything they can get their claws on drag it back to their home and then test if they

can eat it if they can't they cast it aside and if you think a house on Christmas Island is safe from these guys you're wrong these naughty crabs will go as far as to snap open garbage bins or even break into homes if they smell something good Mark and David didn't know it at the time but their escape to the large Rock wasn't really going to save them if the crabs had been aggressive in any way or at least very curious why even if the creatures are fairly gentle they have an unsettling ability their many

powerful legs allow them to jump and climb trees the reason they get their name coconut crab is because they can climb palm trees upwards of 6 M high so they can get their hands on the tasty treats above imagine walking through the forest and seeing one of these right above your head but that's not all over the years Max Orchard had responded to numerous reports of theft in the park when I first went to Christmas Island in the early '90s the Army came over to do some training on the island they had just been issued

with new sty rifles with these plastic butts Orchard explained I got a call from the commanding officer who said someone had been out there and stolen one of their rifles the culprit you guessed it the coconut crab aka the robber crab they found the missing sty rifle sometime later the crabs dragged it off and crushed it this peculiar Behavior becomes especially funny Once you learn their age coconut crabs are not only the largest land-based crabs on Earth but they are also the longest living they can easily live up to 120 years old so it is

very likely that the crab Mark picked up was older than he was although they're not dangerous their claws can still cause harm but Mark was lucky Mark left the encounter completely unscathed he also wondered why the locals didn't tell him to watch out for them when he asked they said that they wanted him to find out more about the island himself it wasn't long before Mark's post of his exciting find gained even more attention online Mark's picture of the mysterious and unique Beast caused quite a stir if you didn't live on Christmas Island or have

an interest in crabs you would have never guessed what Mark was holding