THE UBIQUITOUS CRAWFISH

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by Victor A. Croley

My twelve-year-old Girl Scout granddaughter came bursting into the room, bubbling with excitement. "Grampa! Grampa!" she squealed. "I ate a live crawdad and earned my merit badge."

"Doesn't sound very appetizing to me," I protested.

"Not bad with plenty of salt," insisted Jeanie. "Of course, if you have a fire you can boil them and they turn red and then their tails taste just like shrimp. But if you're desperate and starving you can eat them raw and they have lots of protein and can save your life. That's how I got my survival merit badge."

"Well, I'm sure glad you survived," I said, sending her along with an encouraging pat on the fanny.

Jeanie was right: Crawfish are great survival food . . . partly because you can find them almost everywhere. They're one of the most widely distributed crustaceans and thrive on every continent except Africa. Of the more than 300 known species, no less than 100 have been identified in the United States (where they're variously known as crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs, mini-lobsters, stonecrabs, etc.).

The critters—whatever you call them—look like very small lobsters. Each one is equipped with two claws in front, six or eight slender legs which permit it to walk around on the bottom and a flattened, broad tail which can be used as an emergency oar to send the mudbug shooting backward through the water as if jet-propelled.

Nature made crawfish very prolific . . . a wise provision since they have a host of enemies. They're the principal food of the river otter and are eagerly sought by mink, raccoons, possums and other animals. Even dogs and house cats have been known to catch and eat crawdads. Water birds—gulls, herons, ibis, cranes and storks—feed on the tasty morsels and are adept at catching them in shallow water. Bullfrogs, catfish, bass and other game fish seek them too, and bait shops at many fishing resorts sell stonecrabs in quantity.

Hungry humans are also keen hunters of crawfish . . . which are easily captured, without bait or elaborate paraphernalia. In shallow, running water you can catch the little critters by overturning rocks in the streambed and snatching your prey as they try to escape. (Scare the creatures with a stick brandished in front of them, and they'll dart backwurd. . . straight into a waiting hand or tin can.—MOTHER.)

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