Christmas (Island) in September

Christmas has come early once again for LKCNHM this year. In September, a team from the Museum embarked on a two-week trip to Christmas Island for fieldwork, and have brought back with them a treasure trove of new specimens and, of course, interesting stories of adventure and discovery.

The LKCNHM team comprised Museum Head Peter K. L. Ng (expedition leader), Operations Officer Tan Heok Hui, Curators Jose C. E. Mendoza and Tan Siong Kiat, and Specialist Associate Iffah Bte. Iesa. The team were accompanied by the ex-Chief Ranger of the Christmas Island National Park, Max Orchard, who was willingly pulled out of retirement from his home in Tasmania. Max had already played a key role in all the Museum’s previous expeditions to the island, and is also the author of the book, ‘Crabs of Christmas Island’ (click here).

The purpose of this year’s expedition, carried out after three successful expeditions from 2010 to 2012 (see here and here), was to collect fresh material for an ongoing project studying the endemic crabs of the island, as well as to fill in gaps in data and collections left from the previous trips.

This expedition was a bit unusual compared to the previous ones, though. This time, the team went to Christmas Island during the dry season, instead of the wet season (December to April) as was done in the past. The island is famous for the spectacular mass migration of the Christmas Island Red Crabs (Gecarcoidea natalis) from the rainforest to the coast at the beginning of the wet season, and then back again over a period of a few months. Going out in the dry season for the first time, the team was hoping to find a different set of animals, which were more active or abundant under different environmental conditions.

The team also ventured out to explore areas that were previously inaccessible or hard to reach, such as Isabel Beach and Egeria Point Cave. More importantly, they made some interesting finds, some of which will be displayed in the Museum’s latest exhibit, entitled ‘Christmas Island Red‘, which is set to launch on the 19th of December (see poster below for details).

Stay tuned to our blog for subsequent posts on the expedition to Christmas Island!