Coconut crabs use their flexible claws to climb trees, then use their powerful claws to cut off coconuts, and then peel off the coconut shells to enjoy the delicious food. The strength of coconut crabs is evident, and being pinched by them is really no joke.
∈↗,
Precisely because of the existence of coconut crabs, it is very dangerous to enjoy the shade under a coconut tree, because at some point, a coconut may fall from the tree.
Of course, such dangers are generally not encountered now, because with the continuous invasion of humans, the environment suitable for coconut crabs is becoming less and less. In addition, due to large-scale hunting by humans, the number of coconut crabs is already very small, so in coastal areas
, which is already very difficult to encounter.
After listening to the owner's introduction, Lao Wu and the others were still afraid of coconut crabs and did not dare to go to the beach. Now that time has passed, Lao Wu has learned about coconut crabs and is not too afraid.
When he saw Han Peacock walking past the coconut tree, he actually started to pay attention to the top of his head. Lao Wang smiled and waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, the coconut crab has a good temper. Besides, it is also luck to meet the coconut crab. Now I have this luck.
There aren’t many people left.”
At this time, Lao Wu said with a nostalgic look: "It would have been better if I had met Lao Wang earlier. I later confirmed this. When I met the coconut crab again, I discovered that this is really a harmless thing.
Although crabs are not small in size, they have good tempers and generally do not attack humans."
The three of them had already arrived at Lao Wu's shop. Behind his shop was his residence, with the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms all in the back.
"Don't think coconut crabs look so scary, but they are delicacies in the world. I will treat you to taste coconut crabs tonight." Han Peacock and Lao Wang followed them into the backyard.
When he walked into the backyard, Han Peacock saw the sea urchins piled up in the middle of the yard. There was a small pool in the yard, and all the sea urchins were soaked in it.
"I asked my nephew to bring all the seafood on the boat back. Putting it on the boat will also make it cheaper for the locals." Lao Wu said.
"It's good that we got them back. These sea urchins must be processed as soon as possible, otherwise these delicious foods will be spoiled." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"I forgot about this. These were originally brought back for us to eat." Han Peacock said with a smile.
"I handle the sea urchin very quickly. The coconut crab is almost ready. Xiao Han is going to wash it. We will start eating later, starting with the coconut crab. When we finish eating the coconut crab, the sea urchin will definitely be ready." Lao Wang smiled.
road.
After Han Peacock finished taking a bath and changed into the clothes prepared by Lao Wu, he walked out refreshed. Han Peacock had not changed clothes for several days. In addition, the climate here is hot and humid. If he does not change clothes for a long time, he must be sick.
Feeling uncomfortable all over.
When Han Peacock came out, Lao Wang had already prepared a lot of things, and the slightly scary coconut crab was placed on a round table in the middle of the living room, but the overlord on the coconut tree turned into a dish.
Chinese food is still majestic and impressive.
It has a hard shell and two powerful giant claws. This is the first feeling of the Korean peacock.
The carapace of the coconut crab's body and appendages is calcified and thick, and there are wavy wrinkles on the surface of the head, chest and legs.
The gill area of the cephalothorax is particularly enlarged, the forehead is triangular, the eye scales are small, the left chela is larger than the right chela, the dorsal carapace and lateral carapace of the abdomen are both calcified, and part of them is bent under the cephalothorax, and only one side remains degraded.
of abdominal limbs.
The claws for prey are one big and one small, and the rest of the body parts are symmetrical on both sides. So the coconut crab looks very weird, especially the claws, which look a bit dense, so at first glance, this thing feels more like a spider. The shape
Huge spider.
"How's it going? Are you scared? Coconut crabs are a family of hermit crabs. Because they don't need to live in a snail shell that restricts their body growth, the adult crabs are very large. Some weighed more than 7 kilograms and were nearly half the body length.
It is the largest arthropod on land." At this time, Old Wu came over and said with a smile.
"It's a bit scary. I think those who are timid will not dare to eat it." Han Peacock said.
Lao Wang stood in front of the table, mixing the seasonings and said: "Don't think what Lao Wu just said is an exaggeration. If you walk on the beach at night, you may be frightened by such a picture.
A behemoth, dozens of times larger than an ordinary crab, quickly climbed up a coconut tree more than ten meters high, then used its powerful claws to cut off the coconuts on the coconut tree, then opened the coconuts and ate them with relish
.
This creature that feeds on coconuts is the coconut crab. Since people discovered the coconut crab, it cannot escape the fate of becoming a human meal. However, as a rare species, the price of the coconut crab is not low!"
While Lao Wang was busy, he told Han Peacock and the others this interesting story about coconut crabs.
"We used to have a lot of coconut crabs here, but now that there are more people, there are fewer coconut crabs. If you still want to eat them in the future, you can only go to some small islands to look for them. There are still many coconut crabs growing there. However, now,
The living environment of coconut crabs has been greatly damaged, so now many coconut crabs can only make a living by preying on rats."
"Preying mice?" Han Peacock looked at the plate in surprise, the spider-like crab.
"Yes, many people have seen coconut crabs preying on rats, but the coconut crabs here definitely don't eat rats, because we don't have many rats here, and we have enough coconuts to keep these big guys full."
Lao Wang said with a smile.
At this time, Lao Wu said: "I have eaten coconut crabs several times, so you don't have to worry about this thing being unhygienic. Coconut crabs are distributed throughout the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific. They live in tropical forests near the seaside and are good at climbing trees.
It can climb to the top of coconut trees, palms, castanopsis trees, etc., up to 18 meters above the ground.
It likes to eat the fruits of coconuts or pandanus trees, and often eats animal carcasses, carrion or various plants. It usually lives on land, but during the breeding season it returns to the sea, and its larvae grow in seawater.
So coconut crabs are not a common food. Although coconut crabs were once all over the coral islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, that was once, in the past. There were still a lot of coconut crabs in the past, but because of people's large-scale capture, they have
It’s extremely rare now.”
"Yes! Even in East Timor, coconut crabs are no longer common. You can imagine the coconut crabs in other places." Han Peacock said with emotion. As long as something is delicious, the quantity of anything will decrease sharply.
"In our country, coconut crabs can only be found in the Wandao area, so it is not an easy task to eat coconut crabs. To eat coconut crabs, you must first go to the hotel to make a reservation in advance. Generally, only high-end hotels sell coconut crabs.
." Old Wu said.
"If you don't tell me, I've forgotten that because the coconut crab is huge, has a hard shell, and has two powerful giant claws, it looks fierce and arrogant, so people in Wandao call it "
'Shanba'." Lao Wang said with a smile.
"Shanba? It's quite impressive. Since there are so few of these things, the price must not be cheap?" Han Peacock asked.
Lao Wang smiled and said: "It depends on who you are dealing with. If it is a rich man like you, it will definitely not be too expensive, but if it is an ordinary civilian, then it will definitely be high price. There is currently no price for coconut crabs."
Clear pricing.
Generally speaking, it is calculated by the piece, not by the pound. The approximate price is 30 US dollars per piece, which is about 200 yuan per piece when converted into RMB. The relative price is relatively high, and ordinary people generally cannot afford it."
"Yes, at present, coconut crabs are all wild. There is no artificial breeding method for coconut crabs. The price is naturally a bit more expensive, so in order to prevent them from becoming extinct, it is best to eat less." Lao Wu said.
"This is impossible. Coconut crabs cost thirty dollars a piece here, but can be sold for hundreds of dollars in restaurants. With such a huge profit, coconut crabs will end up on people's tables."
Wang shook his head and said.
At this time, Lao Wu said with emotion: "There is no way to prevent random hunting if there is profit. In May this year, I once again ate coconut crabs that I have been longing for for a long time in a big hotel in Singapore. The coconut crabs there cost one hundred dollars.
One."
Lao Wang was more familiar with this, so he immediately said: "You can also eat it in Saipan. There are coconut crabs there, and the value of a crab is more than 100 US dollars."
"I also know there that coconut crabs are extremely rare on the island now, so if you want to eat coconut crabs, you need to have some connections, otherwise you really can't eat them, just because in the past few years, driven by economic interests,
Coconut crabs are almost completely caught by people on the island.
Once, in order to entertain distinguished guests, I contacted the local indigenous people a week in advance to help catch crabs, and it was with great difficulty that we caught the one we saw. Now it is really not easy to eat."
"Don't we just eat it when we meet it? It's just this way of eating, it's weird if there are any leftovers." Old Wu said with a smile.
At this time, Han Peacock suddenly remembered, how did they catch such a big guy?
"Uncle Wang, how did you catch him?" Han Peacock asked curiously.
"Haha, I know this. The owner of the hotel where we booked coconut crabs gave us a detailed explanation of how the indigenous people catch coconut crabs. The method is very simple. You only need to dig a deep hole in the coconut forest and throw a few
A coconut can be used as bait at the bottom of the pit.
The coconut crab likes to eat coconuts very much. When it cannot resist the temptation and falls into the trap at night, it just uses its very powerful claws to break open the shell and eats the coconut meat greedily, forgetting to escape.
Early the next morning, the indigenous people stretched a prepared wooden stick to the bottom of the trap. The coconut crab immediately grasped the stick with its pincers like it was grabbing a life-saving straw. The indigenous people calmly lifted the coconut crab.
, and then threw it into the iron cage that had been prepared, and it became a prisoner obediently.
Each coconut crab must be kept in a separate cage. If two of the same kind come together, they will definitely fight, and the losing one will become the winner's delicacy. It is said that they are also nicknamed robber crabs.
Coconut crab meat is delicious and delicious, with a unique faint coconut aroma, especially the dish of steamed eggs with coconut crab yolk, which is unforgettable for a long time..." Lao Wu looked nostalgic.