Amelia Earhart Search Team Retreats to Ship Due to Giant Crabs

A team searching for Amelia Earhart's lost aircraft is navigating an unusual challenge on the remote Pacific island of Nikumaroro: massive coconut crabs. The 17-person expedition, led by Purdue University, has decided to sleep aboard their vessel rather than on the island due to the presence of these large crustaceans.

The expedition arrived off Nikumaroro on Monday and began their work ashore the following day. Researchers encountered the coconut crabs while clearing an overgrown trail, nicknamed the "Gallagher Highway," leading to the island's lagoon. The work, which involved using machetes and hand chainsaws, took approximately two hours.

While the crabs are a factor in the decision to sleep aboard the vessel, Purdue University stated they posed no threat to the operation. The university cited the crabs' size and nocturnal activity as reasons for the practical difficulty of staying on the island at night.

Coconut crabs are the largest terrestrial arthropods, known for their powerful pincers capable of cracking coconuts. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, they are omnivorous and can live for over 40 years. The Natural History Museum in London reports that their claws can generate more than 1,765 newtons of force, significantly stronger than a human bite.

One expedition member, Sirisha Bandla, was photographed holding a large coconut crab. Another team member, Renato LaRocca, noted that while the crabs present a challenge, "otherwise it's a magical place."

The expedition is investigating an anomaly detected in satellite imagery that may indicate the location of Earhart's Lockheed Electra. The search is based on the Nikumaroro Hypothesis, which posits that Earhart's plane went down near the island. Earhart, a pioneering aviator, disappeared on July 2, 1937, during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe.