PLAYA GIRON, Cuba (AP) — Every year in Cuba, millions of crabs emerge from the forest at the beginning of the spring rains and head for the waters of the Bay of Pigs, crossing streets and highways on a perilous journey to mate and reproduce there.
Now underway, the migration causes concern to drivers who try to swerve in an often futile attempt not to kill the crustaceans.
Municipal officials begin warning drivers at the end of March to avoid driving in the mornings and evenings since that's typically when the species cross the roadways.
It typically takes them about a minute and a half to cross, but they will use their pinchers to puncture car tires if they feel threatened.
The crabs are a nuisance to residents, but the sight of their road-crossing is a wonder for tourists.
Officials estimate that about 3.5 million gecarcinus ruricolas are killed by vehicles.
The migration could last until July.
Located southeast of Havana, the area was the scene of a 1961 failed invasion by Cuban exiles seeking to overthrow Fidel Castro.
