Millions of red crabs make a mad dash to the sea on Christmas Island.

Searching for the Sea

A red tide flows from the forest to the sea. It is fall on Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean. That’s when millions of red crabs migrate. They skitter to the sea to release their eggs. How do they know what to do?

In October, the wet season begins. The crabs leave their rain forest burrows. Males travel first to the beach. They dig burrows and wait for the females. They mate in or near the burrows. Then the males return to the forest. At the turn of the high tide, females release their eggs into the ocean. Then they return home. The young grow up in the sea and come to land as adults.

Fast Fact:

More than 120 million red crabs transform Christmas Island into a moving red carpet as they move together.

07/07/2024 01:30:56

Over the Ice

During winter months on Antarctica, Adelie penguins migrate north. They make their homes on large platforms of ice. During summer months, the penguins move south to coastal beaches. They look for ice‑free land where they build nests.

To make these trips, penguins follow the sun. But in winter, the sun is hard to find. So, penguins follow the expanding ice that “grows” over the ocean during the cold winter. They live at the edge of this ice.

Fast Fact:

Adelie penguins can migrate up to 17,600 kilometers (10,900 miles).

Adelie penguins lay their eggs on land in summer.

07/07/2024 01:30:56

The Great Glide

What does an animal do when it doesn’t know its migratory path? The whooping crane faced this problem. These birds were nearly extinct due to hunting and loss of habitat.

Cranes are excellent navigators. They learn from their parents to follow well-defined paths. But by 1941, there were only 15 whooping cranes left in the world.

Scientists brought up those numbers to more than 400 cranes today. Still, they had a problem. How do you teach chicks raised by people how to migrate?

A solution was hatched. Young birds were trained to follow small aircraft that guided them along a safe route. These birds are so smart, they only need to be shown once. Having made a one-way trip with their guides, they were able to return on their own. Now, the cranes can teach their young!

Whooping cranes needed a lesson on where to go when they migrated.

Migration Madness

Millions of animals migrate. They use different ways to help them get where they’re going: Earth’s magnetic field; the sun, moon, and stars; physical landmarks; even smells. Whatever tools animals use, their ability to migrate helps them survive.

07/07/2024 01:30:56

A popup dialog has opened