Horseshoe Crabs

I have always loved Horseshoe Crabs. I read about them in the New York Times science section on June 10, 2008. Seems that the marine biologists are concerned about a decline in their numbers due to habitat destruction and their use as bait. So there are counts of the Horseshoe Crab population going on in various places, including Delaware.

So, these articles got me thinking about the summer I was six years old when I met my first Horseshoe Crabs. My sister and I spent one month with our grandparents who lived on the north shore of Long Island on a small cove off of the Long Island Sound. My grandmother would take us for walks along the beach and we say many Horseshoe Crabs lumbering their way to or from the water. I think that they might have been spawning. Asides from our cat Figgy, and a parakeet that died of heart attack after being terrorized by Figgy, the Horseshoe Crab was the first animal that I remember seeing alive. I say this because we used to go to a museum where we saw stuffed animals in displays.

They are one of the oldest animals around, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs.

I have fond memories of seeing Horseshoe Crabs that summer and during subsequent visits if we were there at the right time of year. I tried to feed my banana one summer. Needless to say the Horseshoe Crab was not interested. I don't think that I have seen a Horseshoe Crab in years. I love them and I hope that we can keep our grimmy mits off of them and let them be.