A stowaway crab that hitched a ride on a plane from Costa Rica to Denver has found a new home at the Denver Zoo, zoo officials said.
A Halloween crab, also known as a moon crab or a blackback land crab, was discovered in the main cabin of a flight from Costa Rica when it landed at Denver International Airport earlier this year, according to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.
Halloween crabs are named after their unique coloring that resembles a jack-o-lantern and can range in size from 2 to 4 inches.
The crab, which has not been named by the zoo, entered the Animal Ambassador demonstrations at the zoo’s Gates Amphitheatre last week and will remain on display there until the end of the month, zoo officials said.
After October, it will scuttle over to its permanent home in Tropical Discovery — an indoor display home to nearly 1,800 reptiles, amphibians, fish and crustaceans.
It’s not uncommon for the Denver Zoo — and other zoos across the country — to take in confiscated animals, according to zoo curators.
More often than not, these confiscated animals are reptiles, like snakes and turtles, which are more compact and easier to transport, zoo officials said.
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