Sounds like Mordor and the orcs – but they are Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) near Geesthacht on the Elbe, east of Hamburg. The ten-legged creatures, related to the lobsters, avoid the current at the mighty Elbe weir and crawl over land. For many square meters, the bottom of the bank is colored grey-brown by the crabs, whose shells are slightly larger than two-euro coins.
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