A family outing to the Beachwood Mangroves turned into an unforgettable wildlife encounter for Durban North resident Kumari Dewrance and her two-year-old daughter, Aria, when they discovered hundreds of tiny crabs washing ashore on the nearby beach last week.

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After exploring the mangroves, where they had seen crabs in their natural habitat, the pair made their way onto the beach. It was there that they noticed what initially looked like shells or pebbles scattered along the shoreline.

“We had just finished exploring the Beachwood Mangroves, where we’d seen plenty of crabs in their natural habitat, and then walked onto the beach. That’s when we noticed hundreds of tiny crabs washing ashore with the waves. At first, we thought they were shells or pebbles, but then they all started moving. Although we’d just seen crabs in the mangroves, we’d never seen anything like this on the beach before. We’ve visited many beaches around Durban, but seeing so many tiny crabs being brought in by the waves all at once was completely unexpected. We weren’t sure whether this is something that happens regularly on the beach next to the mangroves or whether we’d simply been lucky enough to witness it,” said Dewrance.

The sight continued for the 10 to 15 minutes they spent on the beach, with each wave appearing to bring more tiny crabs ashore.

“We were all amazed. My two-year-old was completely fascinated by the tiny crabs. She kept pointing at them and saying, ‘Crab! Crab!’ Every time we moved closer, they disappeared into the sand, and she’d excitedly look around for them again, wondering where they’d gone. We just stood there taking it all in. It felt like one of those special moments in nature that you don’t expect to witness,” she said.

Dewrance said the weather was clear, the sea was fairly calm, and aside from the unusually large number of tiny crabs, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

Wanting to share the experience, Dewrance, who runs the TikTok page Durban Kids Guide, filmed the spectacle and posted two videos from the outing — one featuring their walk through the Beachwood Mangroves and the beach, and another focusing on the tiny crabs and Durban’s skyline.

“I’d never seen anything like it before, so I wanted to share the experience with others. The response has been incredible. Together, the two videos have received more than 140 000 views on TikTok,” she said.

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