During rodent monitoring(囓齒目監測) work on Dongsha Atoll personnel from Dongsha Atoll Marine National Park Headquarters and Pingtong University of Technology’s Institute of Wildlife Conservation accidentally caught three coconut crabs (robber crab椰子蟹; 八卦蟹). After being weighed and measured the crabs were immediately released back into the wild. This is the second year in successive that coconut crabs have been seen on Dongsha Atoll since the national park established a management station on the atoll.

The coconut crab (birgus latro椰子蟹), distributed throughout the tropical islands of India and the Pacific, was given its name because of its ability to open coconut shells with its claws to gain access to the flesh of the coconut inside. In Taiwan they are mainly found on the east coast, Hengchun Peninsula, Green Island and Orchid Island. Habitat destruction and harvesting have caused their population to fall sharply and they must now be given special protection.

The national park headquarters said that since the management station was established on Dongsha Atoll in 2008 and personnel were stationed there, habitat conservation work has been actively carried out and native plants nurtured. Coast Guard units have also been the subject of marine ecology education work and have been enlisted to assist in beach cleaning work. To maintain Dongsha Atoll’s bio-diversity the national park’s habitat conservation work will continue.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：Marine National Park Headquarters