That’s great, but what about the crabs?
AI is undeniably on the move right now, but so are crustaceans. Christmas Island’s annual crab migration is a natural phenomenon so apparently wondrous that Sir David Attenborough reportedly once described it as one of his greatest TV moments when he visited the site in 1990.
Every year, millions of crabs emerge from the forest and swarm across roads, streams, rocks, and beaches to reach the ocean, where each female can produce up to 100,000 eggs. The tiny baby crabs that survive take about nine days to march back inland to the safety of the plateau.
While Google is seeking environmental approvals for its subsea cables, the timing could prove delicate for Christmas Island’s most famous residents. According to Parks Australia, the island’s annual red crab migration has already begun for 2025, with a major spawning event expected in just a few weeks, around November 15–16.
Sir David Attenborough examines the great Christmas Island red crab migration.
During peak migration times, sections of roads close at short notice as crabs move between forest and sea, and the island has built special crab bridges over roads to protect the migrating masses.
Parks Australia notes that while the migration happens annually, few baby crabs survive the journey from sea to forest most years, as they’re often eaten by fish, manta rays, and whale sharks. The successful migrations that occur only once or twice per decade (when large numbers of babies actually survive) are critical for maintaining the island’s red crab population.
How Google’s cable infrastructure might coexist with 100 million marching crustaceans remains to be seen, but environmental precautions are reportedly being taken. Judging by the size of the annual migration event, it seems clear that it’s the crab’s world, and we’re just living in it.
This story was updated on November 6, 2025 at 10:49 PM ET to include Google’s statement. An earlier version of this story, based on reporting from Reuters, stated that Google was planning to build an AI data center for military purposes on Christmas Island.
