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17 August, 2012

Looking For the Blue Men Group

Here's something we don't normally see every day...

April, now that she's becoming a big girl, was back at the palapa patio with us this morning. All of a sudden, Dianna says, "What the Hell is that thing?"

I'm picturing the creature from Alien or something. Thankfully what it was, was April chasing a large blue crab that had gotten into our patio garden area. He (or she) is about five or six inches across, just the carapace, not the legs or that wicked left claw.

Of course, I had left my camera upstairs in the house. I immediately ran off to fetch it, hoping the crab would still be there when I got back. It was and here's the result.

I played with it a little bit, grabbing it's massive claw and gently wiggling it until she decided to close it and gave me a slight pinch to one of my fingers. This was enough of an indicator of the power in that claw. If April had gotten nailed by it, I'm not at all sure she would have survived the encounter. Anyway, the crab hung around and posed nicely for a couple of photos.
Wanna Shake Hands?
She then decided it was time to skedaddle by running sideways along the fence to the corner, where she got a bit confused. April took this to be another opportunity to play with her new toy, so I figured that I had to do something to get the crab back into her proper element and not get myself chewed up in the process.
How Do I Get Outta Here?
Cody brought me his rake. I used the handle, trying to get the crab to latch onto the wooden handle, but no go. So I flipped it around and tried scooping her up that way. Marginally successful. At least now she latched onto one of the plastic tines and I was able to hoist her over the fence to the dock on the other side.
Gimmie A Lift Will Ya?
Once over the fence, there was not doubt in our visitor's mind of what to do. She made a beeline to the canal. With a mighty leap (or at least a small step) she tumbled down and splash, back into the canal water and safety.
I'm Gettin Outta Here!
April, of course, spent the next five or ten minutes complaining that we had gotten rid of another of her toys. Then she got sidetracked with a bee or something.

2 comments:

JRinSC said...

Ye gods.. that looks just like the "fiddler crab from mars!"

Good thing he didn't get a good nip at you. I've met a blue crab the hard way and they can really grab.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Julian,

I thought I had a grip on his claw that I'd be safe with. Apparently, he can wiggle the other half of the pincer from side to side a bit, so he was able to nail me just a little. Enough that I knew he had some real strength in that claw.

Cheers,
Dave