Coconut crab, a threatened species, found in Odiongan for the first time

Odiongan, Romblon, Philippines / July 23, 2019 as updated the next day

A coconut crab, apparently female, was found by a driver of a passenger van in the morning of July 21, 2019 near the beach of Odiongan.

The first coconut crab ever seen in Tablas, as far as I know. (Photo by Michael Firmalo, not to be confused with his relative of the same name who recently topped the Sangguniang Bayan elections in Odiongan.)

Richard Dalisay of Ferrol town discovered the coconut crab by the roadside when he was about to board his passenger van after a light and leisurely morning conversation with Michael Firmalo and myself inside an open-sided kiosk at the Odiongan beach. Michael, a relative of Odiongan’s town councilor with the same name, owns a sarisari store right across the street from where we chatted.

Richard Dalisay (in black shirt, center) found a coconut crab at the roadside of the beach. The author (sitting in front) views the creature with interest. (Photo by Michael Firmalo)

My little theory is that the coconut crab could have come from another island (say, nearby Simara) and merely drifted towards the beach of Odiongan. It was raining heavily the previous days so the flow of extra water could have made possible its journey to my hometown.

The 1-year-and-9-month old son of Michael Firmalo walking in the beach of Odiongan. The coconut crab was found near this beach. As for the little boy Butchok, he is a newly acquired friend of mine, hehe. We exchange high 5s whenever we meet. (Photo from Michael Firmalo)

The coconut crab — widely known in the Philippines as tatus (scientific name: Birgus latro) — looked dead or dying and was under attack by ants. It cannot be surmised however that it was dead or dying because of the ants. It is quite possible that the ants attacked it after they found it dead or weakened.

Michael submerged the coconut crab in the sea in an attempt to revive it but to no avail.

Michael immersed the coconut crab in the sea in an attempt to save its life — that is, if it was still alive at that time.

The long sandy shore of Odiongan as seen from Harbor Chateau. The section here is usually called Poctoy beach. The coconut crab was found further up, in a section called Baybay (oftentimes referred to as Odiongan beach which is shared by Brgy. Tabing-dagat and Brgy. Ligaya — 2 of the 4 baranggays of the poblacion or town proper). Poctoy Beach, Odiongan Beach and Budiong Beach comprise one contiguous sandy area, separated from each other by two rivers. The western dividing river is actually the confluence between the twin rivers Bongoy and Bangon. From the mouth of the eastern dividing river up to the southwestern boundary of Brgy. Poctoy is an unnamed beach that partly belongs to Brgy. Ligaya and partly to Toril (the westernmost sitio of suburban Brgy. Dapawan). This unnamed beach or stretch of sandy shore may be regarded as the northeastern extension of Odiongan beach or the southwestern extension of Poctory beach. (Photo by Trip Advisor Philippines)

I never heard before of any coconut crab in Tablas, the island shared by Odiongan with 8 other towns. So this might be the first time a coconut crab set foot — er, I mean, set leg — in this island. Were there coconut crabs in Tablas in previous decades or centuries? Possibly, but I never came across any story about it.

Could it be that the coconut crab traveled from Simara to Tablas? (Map from Travel to the Philippines)

What I know is that there are coconut crabs in the island of Simara north of Tablas. I learned about it more than 20 years ago when a group of Makati businessmen — Antonio Ynchausti, Louie Cuervo, Deo Fajardo and Paco Alcuaz — came over as guests of the parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and the SaintVincent Coop. (They visited Tablas quite a few times and once brought with them a small group of businessmen from Spain who inquired, among other things, about the possibility of Romblon supplying Europe with anchovies.) The Makati-based businessmen asked about tatus and diwal, both delicacies. (I’m not sure if I remember right the name of the second one.) Someone proffered the information that there were coconut crabs in Corcuera (the lone town in Simara) and that one family was even known to have this secret of raising and breeding them in captivity, something that was regarded as impossible to do due to the behavior or lifestyle of the coconut crab.

The coconut crab is nicknamed the palm thief and used to fetch a handsome price in Metro Manila and elsewhere. But the international community has generally classified it by now as a threatened species. Trading in it has been restricted in some countries and banned in others, including the Philippines. According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources:

Buying, using, gathering, possessing and/or transporting [this] species are prohibited under Philippine laws (Republic Act №8550, Sec. 91, 92 and 97; Fisheries Administrative Order 202 and 208) and international treaty (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES).

A coconut crab climbs a coconut tree. It is said that a coconut crab can cut loose a coconut fruit from a coconut tree with its powerful pincers. Then using the same pincers, it would open the fruit to feast on it. (Photo by Danita Delimont)

Prolific writer Lex Librero said that BFAR has already classified the coconut crab as an endangered species. Said he in his blog:

Through its semi-annual publication, KALAP, BFAR Region 2, said that Birgus latro is an endangered species that’s listed under the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). A quick check with the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicates that Birgus latro is considered data deficient and, therefore, could not be accurately classified in terms of its conservation status. Since BFAR has classified Birgus latro as endangered species, it should coordinate with the IUCN and provide that international organization with the complete accurate information about the species.

Nonetheless, he immediately added:

It is entirely possible that being data deficient, Birgus latro may be endangered in some areas while it still remains abundant in other areas.

Cooked coconut crabs. (Photo from Lex Librero)

Despite the legal prohibition that has been enacted, there are plenty of reports that say coconut crabs are still in the menu in the province of Batanes north of Luzon, offering them to tourists as a native traditional delicacy.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the coconut crab.

The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest land-living arthropod in the world, and is probably at the upper size limit for terrestrial animals with exoskeletons in recent times, with a weight up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It can grow to up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length from leg to leg. It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands and Pitcairn Islands, mirroring the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar.

Now, what happened to the coconut crab found by Richard? Oh well, it attracted for some precious minutes the attention of a handful of beach promenaders, both kids and adults. Some cellphone shots were taken with a little posing-posing. (Click here for more photos.)

Someone eventually lifted the creature and took it away. (Photo by Michael Firmalo)

Eventually, when only Michael and I were left, Neneng Llorca who lived nearby arrived. After mumbling something about occasionally seeing strange footprints of a sea creature in the morning, he lifted the coconut crab and said that he would bring it to his drinking pals as they were watching that day the boxing championship fight between Manny Pacquaio and Keith Thurman for the WBA Super Welterweight belt.

Could it be that Mr. Llorca and his drinking buddies were enjoying a coconut-crab dish as a rare, special pulutan while watching the boxing championship fight between Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines and Keith Thurman of the United States for the WBA super welterweight belt? Michael thinks so but I am not sure. (Video from YouTube)

UPDATES:
☉ Flash! Flash! Flash! According Joe Art Gabute Adan of NSF Accounting Services, there are coconut crabs in the Tablas town of Calatrava, particularly in the stony shore of Brgy. Talisay, as well as in the island town of Banton. This he learned from his college classmates from the said towns. He said that the habitat of coconut crabs is usually the stony shore where there are coconut trees nearby. He also said that coconut crabs eat marine foods like shrimps but the meat of old coconut is what they love most. In view of Joe Art’s information, I am now revising my little theory on how the coconut crab appeared in Odiongan. I am now more inclined to think that the coconut crab might have drifted to Odiongan from Calatrava, possibly clinging on some floating piece of wood — August 5, 2019
☉ Rhandy Artificio Fabicon has been stranded in the island of Simara for several days now due to stormy weather. He reports that catching coconut crabs is now prohibited in that island because the species is now considered endangered — August 9, 2019

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