crawdad!

[loligo]

Cross-posted from my journal, an account of the crayfish in my driveway this morning.

I glanced out the window and thought I saw something moving under the back end of my car -- an odd assemblage of leaf-brown points and arches skittering slowly across the pavement. And at first I thought it was just a dead oak leaf being pushed by the wind, but there was something so crab-like about its motion... wait, a crayfish!

We've always known that there were burrowing crayfish in our yard; we see their mud towers all around the wetland. But this was the first one we've seen in the flesh in three years here, unless you count the dismembered claw that some night-time predator left on our deck railing one morning.

I ducked down to get a better look, and discovered that Mr. Crayfish had our smallest cat at bay under the car. I don't know if she dragged him up out of the muck to start with, before discovering his claws, or if he was out on some crustacean errand of his own and she just got in the way. Either way, she was clearly disinclined to mess with him!

My husband went out and grabbed him (confirming that it was indeed a "him" -- he used to do research on crayfish). He thought the kids would want to touch it, but they were way too scared of the claws, even though he showed them how the claws couldn't reach around to the spot on its back where he was holding it. So it was back to the marsh for our crustacean visitor. (And once again, I forgot to get a picture.)

Comments

[haruka]

That's pretty cool! Thanks for sharing. :)

[stultiloquentia]

Oh, neat! I didn't know some types made towers. I've only ever met the little rock-dwelling buddies on the Canadian Shield.

I have a story. A few years ago, we found a dead raccoon on our cottage property, down close to the lake. Dad was gearing up to take it into the woods to bury, when our cousin, who's an entomologist, wandered over to see what was up. "Ooh," he said. "Want to see something cool? Hand me your shovel." He neatly split the coon's belly...and out scuttled four or five live crawfish, who'd been having a feast. Coons think crawfish are yummy. Crawfish sez: "Mutual!"

[loligo]

Nature = Gross + Cool *g*.

Neat!

[elke_tanzer]

We had those little critters in our backyard when I was a kid... they loved the banks of the creek behind our house!

[foxfirefey]

I love your icon, and I also love crayfish, and have a secret desire to have an electric blue one in an aquarium, since I see them sometimes in fish stores.

[loligo]

Oh, that's right! I haven't seen the really bright fish-store kind in person, but many species of crayfish can carry the mutation that makes them more-or-less blue, and back when my husband was doing crayfish research, he would sometimes find some really striking specimens out in the wild.

[melannen]

Crayfish! I've seen them in creeks around here sometimes - never my home creek, though, I suspect it's too polluted. And never on dry land! That is so awesome. Especially it cornering your cat. :D

[zillah975]

Oh, wow, so that's what makes those mud towers! I have to say, the pic at that entry you linked to is of one scary looking creature. I can understand why your cat was held at bay! Am very glad everyone made it out in one piece. :) Thank you for sharing!

[weaverbird]

Oh how very cool! And I the mental picture of the cat cornered by the crayfish makes me grin.