Giant Hermit Crab - Cozumel

After two wonderful morning dives on a small fast boat we had decided to take the afternoon cattle boat, something we are usually loathe to do, but this being our last dive day we hated to waste the opportunity for one more dive on Villa Blanca Wall in Cozumel.


Once everyone was in the water the underwater race began as the crowd predictable rushed toward some imaginary finish line. There is usually a strong current on Villa Blanca Wall and the secret to not “winning the race” is to have good buoyancy, stay close to the bottom with your head low, and fin slow and steady against the current. Using this technique we are able to stop at will and observe the many critters that live on the sandy bottom.

We found this Giant Hermit crab furiously digging for a meal in the sand. Usually when you approach a hermit crab they will pull back into their shell but this big crab was just too busy hunting for food to care about Mary or me.

I can never get enough of just watching these wonderful creatures. Some people may see an ugly crab but I see a beautiful and powerful animal that has learned to adapt and survive. Take the hermit crabs shell for example, do you know that the hermit crab does not actually have a shell. That is right, it finds an abandoned shell, or fights for one, and makes it its home until it grows too large for the shell. At that time it will seek a larger shell to call home. This is quite an adaptation for survival; the hermit has figured out a way to have an armored mobile home for protection from most predators.