‘I felt eternal hell’: These crabs can lift 60 pounds, and put a hurting on a hand

the new stribune.com ^ | 28 Nov 2016 | BEN GUARINO

[DUMBGRUNT]

The truth is coconut crabs are immense - up to 18 inches long and 9 pounds - and their oddities do not end with bodily superlatives...

In practice, however, Oka’s research was a brief sojourn into the world of arthropod-inflicted pain.

Crab pincers snagged the fleshy part of his palm during the study. Twice. “When I was pinched, I couldn’t do anything until they unfastened their claws,” Oka said. “Although it was a few minutes, I felt eternal hell.”

Despite the threat of a few minutes of hellish pain, Oka and his colleagues remained undeterred. “We are going to continue the study of their life history,” he said.

[DUMBGRUNT]

No recipes or cooking tips?

And nothing about blue ointment.

[Tijeras_Slim]

[fwdude]

Crabs have the most ‘personality’ of all the crustaceans.

[miliantnutcase]

These things climb trees and knock down coconuts!! WTF

[gundog]

There’s a tool inspired by crab pincers...pliers.

[Bullish]

Cocktail sauce and lemon can't be too far away.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I worked with a man who picked up a case of crabs from a skank in an Oklahoma bar.

Most just caught clap there but No-0-o! He went for the crabs.

[al baby]

Are they strong enough to go to the store and bring back a few pounds of butter and a couple of lemons ?

[ColdOne]

LOL!

[editor-surveyor]

.
There are catfish that can climb trees too.
.

[editor-surveyor]

.
Visegrip?
.

[smokingfrog]

In the Cook Islands, the coconut crab is known as unga or kaveu, and in the Mariana Islands it is called ayuyu, and is sometimes associated with taotaomo'na because of the traditional belief that ancestral spirits can return in the form of animals such as the coconut crab.

You wouldn't want to eat your ancestor, would you?

[WayneS]

When I was pinched, I couldn’t do anything until they unfastened their claws,” Oka said.

For me, ripping the offending claw from the crab's body comes to mind as one possible solution...

[doorgunner69]

These things climb trees and knock down coconuts!!

Heck, that is nothing.

Wait until you see one OPEN a coconut!

[Boogieman]

60 pounds of butter and lemons, actually.

[rey]

No! the way you get rid of crabs is you shave one have, set the other half on fire, and stab them with an ice pick as they come running out. Sorry. No picture.

[Rurudyne]

I wonder if there’s a video of a Huntsman Spider freaking out after meeting a Coconut Crab?

[bgill]

I couldn’t do anything until they unfastened their claws

Those who fail to prepare... Chainsaw and pot of boiling water.

[smokingfrog]

They’re definitely strong enough, but training them to be your slave is probably against the law, and they would most likely eat all your butter.

[LibWhacker]