Giant Robber Crabs

These are pictures taken more than a decade ago - in February 1998 during a visit to the small South Sentinel Island Wildlife Sanctuary which is part of the Andaman Group of islands. South Sentinel is only 1.6 sq. kms in area and is uninhabited by humans. The island is known to support a very good population of the Giant Robber Crabs; infact the island is the only one in the Andaman group that has any giant robber crabs at all. The beach on the island is also a very good nesting site for the Green Sea turtle. The island is said to have been badly hit by the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 and not much is presently known of the status of all this wildlife here.

Fauna of the A&N Islands - 1

Nicobari Crab Eating Macaque, South Bay, Great Nicobar Island, Feb. 2002
Only two islands in the Nicobars, Great Nicobar Island and Katchal have a population of these macaques. In Great Nicobar in particular, they had become a big problem for the horticulturists and farmers on account of crop damage that they caused

Giant Robber Crab, South Sentinel Wildlife Sanctuary, February 1998.
The Giant Robber Crab Birgus latro is among the largest and the most land dwelling of crab species. It is found in a number of Nicobar Islands and only the South Sentinel Island in the Andaman group. South Sentinel is a small 1.6 sq. kms un-inhabited island that is known to have a good population of these crabs

Green Sea turtle returning to the sea after nesting, South Sentinel Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Feb. 1998.