Cooktown Crab Burrows

In the book, I mention seeing crab burrows as I’m standing on the beach near Cooktown. I thought folks might wonder what a crab burrow looks like and how you can identify one. Well, it’s quite simple, really—just look for the “crab balls.” There are species of crabs on this coast that live on the bits of organic matter—animal and vegetable—that constantly wash up onto the sand. They actually scoop up and eat the sand “soup,” absorbing the nutrients and depositing the waste sand in little balls. When you see large collections of these balls, look for the burrows. In the picture below, you’ll note the small holes that show where the crabs have dug in for the day.

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