Christmas Island

Declared in 1980 over close to 63% of the island's area, it protects the habitat of the Christmas Island red crab, the star of the greatest documented land migration of crustaceans on the planet: each year, generally between October and December depending on the moon, some 100 million red crabs leave their burrows in the wooded interior all at once to spawn in the sea, literally covering roads, gardens and paths for several days, a phenomenon that forces road closures and the building of special bridges and fences to protect the crabs from traffic. The island is also the only known nesting site in the world of the Christmas Island frigatebird and of Abbott's booby, both listed as endangered.