Overview

• The Department of National Parks shared images of a vibrant purple panda crab spotted by rangers in Kaeng Krachan National Park, measuring just under an inch across its shell.
• Park officials called the discovery a “precious gift from nature” and said the crab’s appearance marks a positive indicator of the park’s freshwater ecosystem health.
• Purple variants of the panda or “Princess” crab are considered extremely rare and poorly documented, with historical accounts of their first sightings ranging from 1986 to earlier reports.
• Hendrik Freitag of the Senckenberg Museum of Zoology has suggested the violet pigmentation may have evolved by chance, underscoring the limited scientific understanding of its occurrence.
• The viral photos posted on Facebook have generated international media attention and renewed public interest in conserving Thailand’s biodiverse World Heritage–quality forest.