Listen Now:

 

Location:

Sandy Bay, Jamaica
North America

Contributor

Karen Gulliver

---

Crawl
The island of Jamaica is home to a number of different types of freshwater and land crabs. Many of these delicate creatures make their home in the wetland areas that hug the coast. With the commercial development of Jamaica’s best sand beaches, many crabs find themselves across the street from the Caribbean. However, female crabs must return to the sea to lay their eggs. During the rainy season, the crabs’ land burrows flood, and large numbers of crabs can be seen making nighttime runs to the water. In the 1950s, crab racing became a popular amusement for tourists. Today, the races are run by professionals, with recorded music, racetrack announcers and pari-mutuel betting.