That’s nice, however what in regards to 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 certainly one of his best TV moments when he visited the site in 1990.
Yearly, hundreds of thousands of crabs emerge from the forest and swarm throughout roads, streams, rocks, and seashores to achieve 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 looking for environmental approvals for its subsea cables, the timing might show delicate for Christmas Island’s most well-known residents. In line with Parks Australia, the island’s annual crimson crab migration has already begun for 2025, with a significant spawning occasion anticipated in only a few weeks, round November 15–16.
Sir David Attenborough examines the good Christmas Island crimson crab migration.
Throughout peak migration occasions, sections of roads shut at quick discover as crabs transfer between forest and sea, and the island has constructed particular crab bridges over roads to guard the migrating plenty.
Parks Australia notes that whereas the migration occurs yearly, few child crabs survive the journey from sea to forest most years, as they’re typically eaten by fish, manta rays, and whale sharks. The profitable migrations that happen solely a few times per decade (when giant numbers of infants really survive) are crucial for sustaining the island’s crimson crab inhabitants.
How Google’s cable infrastructure would possibly coexist with 100 million marching crustaceans stays to be seen, however environmental precautions are reportedly being taken. Judging by the scale 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, said that Google was planning to construct an AI knowledge heart for navy functions on Christmas Island.
