This horseshoe crab needs a helping hand!
Horseshoe crabs have existed for more than 400 million years. They spend most of their lives out in the deep ocean, but every summer they crawl up onto beaches and salt marshes across Massachusetts to lay their eggs. In just one summer, a female may lay as many as 80,000 eggs. Many species of shorebirds rely on these eggs, which are packed with fats and proteins, to fuel their southward migration!
Although they look sharp and spiny, horseshoe crabs are harmless if handled properly. If you ever come across a horseshoe crab stranded upside down, don’t grab it by the tail! Instead, you can pick up by grabbing both sides of the rounded head portion of the shell, and set it back on the beach with the legs down to continue on its way.
Thanks to the bio tech at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Complex for the friendly flip and getting this horseshoe crab on its way. USFWS
Video description: a horseshoe crab stranded on its back in wet sand moving its legs and tail
