And with almost no competition from other native animals, the crabs' huge size allows them to make the most of another great coloniser - something found here in abundance. Coconuts are one of their favourite foods - it's why they're also called "coconut crabs" - and they've been known to carry them as far as three miles back to a favourite den. Robber crabs are perhaps the only animals in the world able to break into a coconut. The husk is ripped off by powerful pincers. Other legs drill through the germinating holes on the seed itself until the nut finally cracks. The whole process can take several hours, but the reward is a meal rich in protein. Robber crabs may rule the land, but they're no masters of the sea. An adult crab would drown in a few minutes, which raises the question - how did these monsters get to so many of the South Pacific's most isolated islands?


盗蟹的巨大体型让它们能充分利用另一块大领地，在这里能找到许多椰肉，这是它们最喜欢的食物，所以它们也叫椰子蟹。它们能带着椰子跑回三哩外的穴居里，盗蟹或许是地球上唯一能打破椰子的动物。外壳被强力的钳子撕掉，其它腿钻通椰子自身的芽眼，直到硬果最终破掉，整个过程可能要数小时，奖赏是一顿富含蛋白质的美餐。盗蟹统治着陆地，却不是海洋的主人。成年蟹能下水数分钟，浮上来却是个问题。这个怪物怎么到南太平洋 最孤立的岛有那么多？