Two Christmases, The

1980, 27 Minutes

A study of the wildlife of two Christmas Islands.

Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean is the world's largest coral atoll. It is now a wildlife sanctuary, supporting a large bird population that includes Frigates, Noddys, Boobies, Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Red-tailed Tropicbirds and the Phoenix Petrel.

The other Christmas Island, nearly 10,000 kilometres away in the Indian Ocean, is the crest of a largely submerged volcano. A striking feature of life on this island are the crabs, including the world's largest land crab. Around Christmas time each year an extraordinary phenomenon occurs, in which thousands of baby Red Crabs make their way from their birthplace on the coast up into the jungle, following the route their mothers took.

© 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.