Horseshoe Crabs
Dying Living Fossils
By: Astrid Hiemer - Dec 13, 2017
Horseshoe Crabs
Horseshoe Crabs were washed ashore
By the hundreds
On every Lower Cape Cod
Ocean beach we had walked
And traveled in late fall.
Just look at the dead bodies!
Right side up, the brown shells with
Their long Searching Rods
Have barely changed in
Hundreds of millions of years.
Underneath count ten skinny, crusty legs
With small claws, surrounded by book gills.
The legs have carried them along ocean floors
And sandy, muddy bottoms close to shore.
They only venture voluntarily
Onto beaches during mating season.
The large female crab lays thousands of eggs
At one time into sand holes.
They will be fertilized by several male crabs
And will be eaten by migratory birds along the shore.
Actually, the female crab may lay between 60,000
To 120,000 eggs during a mating season.
Then, some of their blue blood is harvested
After which the crab must return promptly
To the ocean, in order to survive.
Their blood is used in medical processes
To detect bacteria.
Half a million crabs loose up to 30 percent
During blood-letting.
Will they survive or become bait for fish?
Corporations determine their fate and
Save them or sell them.
These beautiful creatures are
Older than prehistoric times.
They are Marine Anthropods,
Already 450 million years old:
‘Living Fossils,’ is what they are called.
Meanwhile, on Cape Cod
‘The violent storms
'Are causing an extreme die-off
'Of Horseshoe Crabs,’
Residents of the Cape tell us.
‘Climate Change is causing as of late*
'So many more serious storms
'Than in prior years,’ we learn.
* And wonder: Define as of late.
Cape Coders know!
Ocean bound men and women
Are more aware of weather changes.
On peninsulas like Cape Cod people
Experience acute climate changes more intensely
Than in other regions.
Now, multiply that fact up and down the coast
Up and down many coast-lines, plus
More violent storms and hurricanes along oceans,
Huge floods in several States,
Unprecedented furious fires in North,
Then in the South of California,
Post years of droughts followed by heavy rains.
Snow in Atlanta, Texas and Washington, DC
Before snow falls in New England.
That is also new!
Every Continent is experiencing serious climate changes.
State Governments, Corporations, as well as
Millions of citizens here work on counter measures.
Yet, current Federal Agencies in the USA
Promote Climate Change deniers for short-term economic gains.
It is worldwide an absolutely outdated position!
Ergo: The unfortunate loss of life of millions of horseshoe crabs
Represent only a small example in the global
Climate upheaval - which will continue
On its destructive path.