Homeless Hermit Crab Steals Shell From Robotic Spy

In an amusing clip from the BBC series Spy In the Ocean narrated by David Tennant, a robotic spy hermit crab created by John Downer Productions found itself being stripped of its shell by a live crab looking for a new home while it was observing the group on the beaches of Belize.

In the tropical paradise of Belize  the hermit crabs have a problem  They’ve outgrown their home… or their shells have become worse for wear  They need to upsize their accommodation To find out how, another Spy goes under cover 

The spy had been watching the very organized way hermit crabs exchange shells. They line up in order of size and move into a newly vacated shell that is the next size up from theirs until the last one is reached.

The crabs line up in order of size They don’t all need grand accommodation, they just need the next size up  First, they must find their correct place in the queue.They wait until everyone is assembled.Then the house swap begins. The largest leaves his old home and moves into the vacant shell next door. Then the next size down takes over the shell he left behind.

Unfortunately, not all crabs are willing to give up their former homes. And that’s perhaps how the spy lost its shell.

But exchanging houses is not without problems  Some have buyer’s remorse and try to keep both properties. Most are content with their new home, although one seems to have house envy. He’s eying up our Spy. He just needs to check the shell for size. Our spy is now the only crab left homeless.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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