The period between July and November of each year coincides with the peak breeding season of land crabs on the Hengchun Peninsula. Female land crabs pregnant with eggs in their abdomens can be seen traversing to the beaches at night in coastal areas such as Banana Bay, Ho Wan (Back Bay) and the Gangkou River Estuary. However, their journey to the sea is often perilous and filled with obstacles: traffic on roadways, gaps and ditches, and malicious catching from humans, all threaten to end the lives of these crabs, preventing them from completing the cycle of life.

To allow the land crabs to safely reach the sea, the Kenting National Park Headquarters (KNPH) will continue last year’s land width reduction measures, reducing the widths of roadways and opening a safe passage to the crabs. The measures will take effect from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, August 14 to 16 and September 12 to 14, and from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, October 11 to 13, a total of nine evenings. During these hours, the outside lanes of the two-lane Highway No.26, from sections 39.4k to 40.4k, will be closed, in order to slow down traffic and allow female crabs a safer passageway.

The KNPH stated that land crabs are valuable biological resources that are unique to the Hengchun Peninsula, and welcomes everyone visiting Kenting to take the time to observe them during their breeding season. To protect these crabs, the KNPH also wishes to remind drivers to take caution and slow down on certain road sections when traveling through Kenting.

Source：Kenting National Park