That’s nice, however what concerning the crabs?
AI is undeniably on the transfer proper now, however so are crustaceans. Christmas Island’s annual crab migration is a pure phenomenon so apparently wondrous that Sir David Attenborough reportedly as soon as described it as one in every of his best TV moments when he visited the site in 1990.
Yearly, thousands and thousands of crabs emerge from the forest and swarm throughout roads, streams, rocks, and seashores to succeed in the ocean, the place every feminine can produce as much as 100,000 eggs. The tiny child crabs that survive take about 9 days to march again inland to the security of the plateau.
Whereas Google is in search of environmental approvals for its subsea cables, the timing might show delicate for Christmas Island’s most well-known residents. In keeping with Parks Australia, the island’s annual purple crab migration has already begun for 2025, with a serious spawning occasion anticipated in only a few weeks, round November 15–16.
Sir David Attenborough examines the good Christmas Island purple crab migration.
Throughout peak migration occasions, sections of roads shut at brief discover as crabs transfer between forest and sea, and the island has constructed particular crab bridges over roads to guard the migrating lots.
Parks Australia notes that whereas the migration occurs yearly, few child crabs survive the journey from sea to forest most years, as they’re usually eaten by fish, manta rays, and whale sharks. The profitable migrations that happen solely a couple of times per decade (when giant numbers of infants truly survive) are crucial for sustaining the island’s purple crab inhabitants.
How Google’s cable infrastructure may coexist with 100 million marching crustaceans stays to be seen, however environmental precautions are reportedly being taken. Judging by the dimensions of the annual migration occasion, it appears clear that it’s the crab’s world, and we’re simply residing in it.
This story was up to date on November 6, 2025 at 10:49 PM ET to incorporate Google’s assertion. An earlier model of this story, primarily based on reporting from Reuters, acknowledged that Google was planning to construct an AI information heart for army functions on Christmas Island.
