Crabs and rodents seemed to be a big problem but why not see crab as a food source?

On my last visit to Peleliu a few years ago to walk the battlefield with some friends, I asked our local guide the same question, mostly because anyone familiar with the history of this WWII campaign knows that 1st Marine Division’s staging base on Pavuvu was overrun with rodents and land crabs.

The guide was also a close friend. Born and reared on Peleliu, he had introduced me to the waters in this part of Palau on numerous scuba adventures. The Coconut Crab in this region is excellent eating. We had shared my first one on a previous trip to Peleliu.

So, my question centered on the most pervasive species of land crab. Unlike the rarer and larger Coconut Crab, the Land Crab resides all over the island and appears active during all hours of the day and night. I don’t know it’s official name.

Locals just call it the Land Crab. According to my guide and friend, some locals eat Land Crabs, but they don’t taste as good as the Coconut Crabs. Of note, he also informed me that the Land Crab’s flavor is derived from what it eats.

When I told him the story about Pavuvu, he said it was likely that these crabs ate a lot of carrion, probably dead rats, since that mammal was found in large numbers on Pavuvu. That might explain why the Marines did not view the Land Crabs on Pavuvu as a food source.