Bula!

“First view of fiddler crabs as we arrived at Matava! (Definitely not leaves).”

Within seconds of offloading the boat to Matava, we were introduced to some of Fiji’s unique marine wildlife. Wading through the water along a path of sea grass in low tide, we had a view of some of the creatures that reside on the shallow sea floor: particularly, Fiddler Crabs! That said, it was fairly hard to tell at first. From even a few meters away these tiny, bright yellow crustaceans could easily be mistaken for fallen leaves. The closer we got, the more they seemed to move, and by the time we were right by them, we realized what exactly they were; all in awe, before even getting into the water. Any time we come back from a dive at low tide, these crabs are out and about, all along the shore.

Male fiddler crabs each have a singular massive claw, roughly the size of the rest of its body. They wave it in the air (sort of as if playing an air fiddle), in order to attract a mate. Getting a picture of one of these guys was almost like playing a game of wack-a-mole. Even when surrounded by countless crabs by the shore, if I got too close, they would quickly scatter and scurry into nearby burrows. Luckily I happened to be near one that was too big to fit into any of its nearest burrows. After a brief staring contest (and a couple of great photos) we each carried on. It was pretty inspiring to see creatures like these crabs in their natural habitat, and was a great first animal encounter for the trip, making me all the more excited to see what else we’ll find!

“Close up shot of one of the fiddler crabs.”