The picture of a possible "Crabzilla" measuring about 50 feet has surfaced after such creature was allegedly spotted at a harbor in the United Kingdom. The oddity has led many to ask: could this be real or simply a hoax?
The photograph of the monster crab first came out in the website Weird Whitstable, which collects exciting and unusual pictures of sightings reported in the town of Whitstable, Kent.
Quinton Winter, the curator of the website, reveals that a follower sent him the picture of the giant crab lurking at the Kent harbor. The satellite image of the crab shows the creature to be about 50 feet in size, more than four times bigger than the biggest crabs alive on the planet. Winter initially thought the crab-like image was due to some sort of sand formation; however, he now believes that it is an actual crab.
Winter says that he may have also seen the gigantic crab when he went for crabbing with his son in the summer of 2013.
"At first all I could see was some faint movement, then as it rose from the water I thought, 'that's a funny looking bit of driftwood," said Winter. "It had glazed blank eyes on stalks, swiveling wildly and it clearly was a massive crab with crushing claws. Before this incident I thought the aerial photo showed an odd-shaped sand bank. Now I know better."
Japanese spider crabs, found in the waters around Japan, are the biggest known living crab species is the world. The Japanese spider crab can weigh up to 12 kilograms (26.45 pounds) and its leg span can reach up to 3.8 meters (about 12 feet).
Even though some people believe that the giant crab image is real, there are some who believe it is a hoax and may be the result of computer image manipulation. The image could be an enlarged picture of an edible crab with the scientific name of Cancer pagurus, which is generally found in the waters surrounding the British Isles. However, this crab species is not as big as 50 feet but measures just about 10 inches and weighs just around six pounds.
Check out the picture of the giant crab of Weird Whitstable and decide for yourself: is it real or a hoax?
