Give-A-Day for the Bays:Horseshoe Crabs
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June 1, 2021 - June 30, 2021
This month we honor the Horseshoe Crabs, have you seen them at the beach yet?
MCBP assists the Department of Natural Resources with an annual horseshoe survey. Click here for more details.
June marks the beginning of spawning season for these amazing prehistoric inhabitants of our waterways. And this species has been saving our lives for decades. Their blood reacts strongly to bacterial infections and is used to test for bacterial contamination of medical equipment-like that syringe that gave you your covid shot.
Right now the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Atlantic horseshoe crab as ‘vulnerable’, just one step below endangered.
So for this month, and for the rest of the summer, you can help horseshoe crabs in you own small way. If you find one on the beach that’s been flipped upside down, turn it righ side up so it can go on its way. For creatures that have been saving our lives for decades, it’s the least we can do.
Check out the Just flip ’em!™ program. It is a great program designed to bring attention to the hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) who die each year from stranding (stuck upside down) during their yearly spawning ritual and to encourage individuals, through a simple act of compassion, to take the time to assist and appreciate these remarkable creatures.