COCONUT HOARDERS
Coconut Hoarders , acrylic on canvas, 2025. 32" X 32"/81 cm X 81 cm Coconut crabs are the largest crabs and the largest land arthropods known. They feed primarily on fleshy fruits, nuts and seeds, including coconuts. Although coconuts are not a large part of the coconut crab's diet, this painting, which depicts a number of them (and other types of crabs) feasting on coconuts, emphasises the "coconut" part of the crab's name. The coconut crab's powerful claws are used to crack open coconut husks and shells to get to the nutritious flesh inside. They also got their name because they have been observed climbing coconut trees, either to pick coconut fruits or to escape from predators. The blue coconut crab that is climbing the tree in the painting is based on a rare colour morph that can be found in the Nicobar Islands of the eastern Indian Ocean.