New Amelia Earhart Expedition Revives the Coconut Crab Theory

Could the answer to the age-old mystery about Amelia Earhart's disappearance be explained by crabs? A team of researchers is on-site at the remote island of Nikumaroro in the Pacific, trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to the famous aviator and her navigator. Why do they believe crabs might hold the answer? Read on for the details.

Giant Coconut Crabs Could Be Responsible for Amelia Earhart's Death

A new theory is unfolding surrounding the mystery of Amelia Earhart, blaming her demise on giant coconut crabs. What is known is that Earhart's ill-fated flight around the world went down somewhere near the equator in the Pacific Ocean in 1937. While historians are relatively certain what part of the ocean that plane went down in, what is not known is what exactly happened to her and her navigator, Fred Noonan. Neither of the bodies nor the Lockheed Electra airplane has ever been located.

A team of researchers from Indiana's Purdue University's Archaeological Legacy Institute and the Purdue Research Foundation headed to the island of Nikumaroro on October 2 to explore the possibility that the large hunting crabs could have killed Earhart and Noonan and to inspect the Taraia Object, an anomaly in the island’s lagoon that they believe could be Earhart’s plane. The researchers are part of the Taraia Object expedition.

The researchers arrived on the island a few days ago, hoping to find Earhart's remains and her plane. While on the island, the team will have to deal with more than just the meat-eating crabs. Nikumaroro is also inhabited by rats that nest within the thick vegetation in this part of the tropics.

Controlled by the nation of Kiribati, Nikumaroro is known for its proliferation of coconut crabs that can live up to 60 years. The London Museum of Natural History calls this species of crabs "bird-eating behemoths" that thrive on "isolated tropical islands." The museum notes that the crabs' legs can grow to more than three feet. The experts at the museum also note that the crabs "have incredible grip strength and they can lift objects the weight of a 10-year-old child."