Million-strong crab migration gets the Google Street View treatment

Every year on Australia's Christmas Island, which lies just south of Indonesia, millions of red crabs swarm the island in their annual migration.

About 40 to 50 million crabs make their way from the forest to the coast in around October or November, to breed and release their eggs to sea.

It's a migration that can last up to 18 days, and crab crossings as well as fences have been erected to ensure the crabs get to shore safely.

It's an event only a lucky few people get to see, but Google is bringing you closer by covering the migration on Street View with the assistance of Alasdair Grigg from Parks Australia.

Grigg has worn a Street View Trekker 360 camera to capture images from the yearly event, and it'll be down the pathways these crabs take to the shore.

"Christmas Island is not on the radar of most travellers...We hope people can get a taste of the magnificent nature and the red crab migration through the eyes of the Google Trekker. We also hope they are inspired to appreciate the world-class conservation values of the Island," Grigg said in a statement.

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This year, the migration event is expected to finish Dec. 13, and Street View imagery of it all is expected to be released in early 2018.

Google has for some time been working toward covering iconic places around Australia on Street View, as seen in their coverage of Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.