The body color is not bright red, but there is redness on the legs and instep.
That's about it. There are individual differences in body color,
There are individuals with bright colors and individuals with subdued colors.
Last November, when I went to Savannakhet in Laos to take pictures, I came across wild crabs being sold as food at the market. In her case, when she visits a new field, she makes it a point to visit the nearby market. This is because by checking the fish, crabs, shrimp, insects, and other creatures lined up for sale there, you can get general information about what kinds of creatures live in that place. Also, the lively markets are interesting because you can get a glimpse of the lives of the local people.
Now, the wild crabs I found at the market were piled up carelessly in a large tray. Apparently it can be harvested near here. It's delicious, so go buy it! Beside the grandmother, a girl who appeared to be her grandchild was shyly looking at us. I decided to buy some as samples, but many of them were missing legs because they had been packed in a mess. I still want a complete product, so I turn the pile of crabs over and select the cleanest ones. I wonder if there are any customers like that, and the galleries gather around and start talking about this and that. While enjoying the hustle and bustle, we selected our crabs and had them placed in a bag.
Poo den for sale.
The encounter here led me to the habitat this time.
This was the trigger.
It took several days to return overland to Bangkok, Thailand, with occasional splashes of water, but the dozens of crabs gradually died, and in the end there were only two left. It seems like we have to pack them one by one and make sure they don't fight. Furthermore, by the time I brought it back to Japan, there was only one left. Hmm, that's too bad, I'll have to learn from this and transport them next time without killing them.
In May of this year, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to Laos again. She wanted to go to the mountain crab's habitat and see how it behaves in the wild, so she asked a familiar driver to gather some information.
Also known as Ricefield Club in English
Called.
There are several types of crabs in Southeast Asia.
It looks like it is different from the type seen in Thailand.
Apparently there are two types of edible crabs sold at markets in Laos. The most common is the tagani called poo na. This crayfish has an ecology similar to that of the American crayfish in Japan, and lives in rice paddies and wetlands, digging holes beside them to make its home. It is commonly seen in rural areas in Thailand. It is resistant to water stains, and I have even seen it living in the drains of Bangkok.
The other species is the mountain crab called Poo Deng, which is also the purpose of this article. The language of Laos is very similar to Thai, and they share many words in common. Crabs are called poo in both Thai and Lao. The word den, which means red, is added as a modifier, and it becomes pu den = red crab. By the way, the word "na" in Poo Na means rice field, and it means rice field crab or tagani.
It was a foot. A normal car cannot enter this car.
It shows its power on narrow and rough roads such as
It is not suitable for long-distance travel like this time.
This happens every time, but this time too the engine stopped midway.
Stop and take a few breaks!
I thought it was deep in the mountains, but there are small hills.
It was a rice field area. the number of holes in the ground
As far as I can see, the population density is quite high.
After doing some research, I was told that Poo Deng can be harvested about 4 to 5 hours from the town of Savannakhet by a car called a Samro, which is a motorcycle with a carrier attached. Even if it's a comfortable passenger car, just driving in Samrō is exhausting, and 4 hours is quite a challenge. However, car charter fees are extremely expensive here in Laos, and it costs nearly 10,000 yen to rent a regular car for one day. This expense is painful for poor photographers. Samuro costs a fraction of that. The person collecting information for us is a Samuro driver who has been familiar with this place for a long time, so we decided to use him.
We had a meeting the day before and he said he would pick us up at 6am. Even if you leave at that time, you will arrive at your destination at 10 or 11 o'clock. I'm a complete night owl, so I don't like getting up early, but the next day I got up properly and left before 7am. It rained on the way, and the car broke down, so we arrived at our destination around 12:00. The muddy dirt road is more bumpy than I expected, and if I don't hold on properly, I end up hitting my head on the ceiling or being thrown out of the car. By the time I arrived, I was already exhausted.
In other wild crabs, males have larger claws.
It is normal for there to be differences between males and females, but
There is almost no difference between males and females of this species.
Since I was fishing for wild crabs, I thought it would be higher up in the mountains, but the place I arrived at was a rural area with slightly elevated hills. Apparently there is a family of the driver's acquaintances here who will help with the collection. After a few greetings, I was guided to pick Poo Deng. I was prepared to walk for a long time in the mountains, but I heard that I could harvest it next to the rice field behind my house. It was a bit of a letdown, but I was lucky because I was tired just getting this far. Catching crabs seems to be a job for women and children here. Grandmothers, aunties, and children all came out to help collect.
The men did not try their hand at collecting.
It had just rained and water was piling up in the dry rice field.
Collection was easy because the soil was soft.
As I was told, there are many holes next to the rice fields where crabs live. If you dig there, crabs will come out. Everyone gathered crabs while getting covered in mud. There are some large ones and some small ones, so it makes sense that they can be eaten at such a density. There seemed to be more females in areas close to the water, and more males in areas a little further away from the water. Perhaps it was the breeding season, and many of the females were carrying large eggs or baby crabs in their abdomens. Of course, those with children are released to conserve resources. Within an hour, we had gathered the desired number of animals, and next time we put them in individual pudding cups one by one to avoid fighting.
During the day they are deep in the hole, but at night
They go out of their holes and look for food. The depth of the hole is that of an adult's arm.
It's about the length.
I was happy that I was able to take some photos, but it was a little depressing to have to travel over 4 hours to get back to the hotel. Needless to say, she fell asleep that night from exhaustion and satisfaction.
