Viral Crab With Knife Real or Hoax? Experts Speak Up

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Zieger M)
Viral Crab With Knife Real or Hoax? Experts Speak Up

Various clips of crabs holding a knife have gone viral in recent years. Is it possible for crustaceans to hold a weapon? Here's what an expert has to say.

Viral Crab With Knife

Many were horrified when they saw a clip of a video holding a knife. In 2018, a YouTube clip featured a crab seemingly engaged in a sword fight while it scuttles across a sink.

It remains unknown where the video is taken, but the Portuguese title translates as "Crab wields knife and fights for his life in a kitchen."

The clip has received several reactions, with many joking about the unexpected sight. One said it wasn't time for crab but time for stab. Another warned to be "wary of the counterattack."

"KITCHEN EMERGENCY: The crab has a knife! I repeat, the crab has a knife!" one commented on X, formerly Twitter.

A similar video showcased another crab wielding a knife as if it were in a sword wife. In 2020, Kyle King, a Michigan native in Japan, woke up while camping on Komaka Island in Okinawa, Japan, and found the world's largest crab species with a steak knife. He uploaded the encounter on TikTok and captioned it with "Lucky to be alive."

King said he was woken at 2 a.m. after hearing something was "scratching" outside his tent. He found a giant crab with a knife in its claw when he checked on it.

He initially picked up his phone to use the flashlight but started filming. King successfully grabbed the knife and thanked the animal for its cooperation when it slowly backed away.

KITCHEN EMERGENCY:
The crab has a knife! I repeat, the crab has a knife!
— King of Zeroes ⑨ (@KevinDahmer) March 18, 2018

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Can Crab Hold a Knife?

The sight entertained many but made several wonder if a crab could hold a weapon. Various experts shared their knowledge and expertise about the issue.

Jack Cover, general curator for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, called the video "a hoax." According to him, the knife appeared jammed into the claw, and the crab couldn't grasp it.

He added that the crustacean appeared "absolutely distressed." As to how the animal moved, he said it was normal whether it was holding a knife or not.

"It's a normal behavior. If the knife wasn't there, the crab would be swinging around," Cover explained. "You can put a plastic gun in that crab's claw as well and it'd look like a gun-wielding crab."

Molly Zaleski, a marine scientist based in Alaska, shared the same sentiment. He was 99 percent sure that someone put the knife on the crab's claws to create a hilarious video. He stressed that it was not normal for crabs to use knives as tools or as a defense against humans.