FIRST IT WAS FENTANYL, NOW IT'S THE MITTEN CRAB FROM CHINA ..... QUICK HEGSETH, BOMB THEM CHINESE BOATS

Scary invasive Chinese creature that can climb 13ft walls sparks panic after second Oregon sighting

 

By Kelly Garino 

 

Daily Mail

Dec 2, 2025

 

Chinese mitten crabs have four spines along each side of their top shell, making them easily distinguishable from any native US crab

 

A crab native to China and South Korea that can scale 13-foot walls has been spotted in Oregon for the second time, setting off fresh alarms among wildlife officials. 

The Chinese mitten crab, identified by its long legs, medium-build and distinctive, hair-covered claws, was discovered in the Willamette River on November 17, according to an Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) news release.

The recent find officially marks the state's second record of the invasive species, following an April sighting roughly 150 miles away along the same waterway.

'ODFW biologists are working with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland State's Center for Lakes and Reservoirs and the Oregon Invasive Species Council to determine if other mitten crabs are in the Willamette River,' the news release read.

Officials are calling the state's second invasive crab 'concerning,' especially given its ability to climb walls as high as 13 feet, according to the US Bureau of Reclamation.

In one alarming incident, several long-legged mitten crabs escaped from a concrete holding tank with walls a staggering 18 feet high. 

Despite being unlawful to possess or sell in several states - including Oregon - mitten crabs may still enter the country through illegal food trade channels before being released alive into state waters. 

Once in US waters, the crabs prey on native wildlife, consume fish eggs and compete for food, potentially harming native fish populations and destabilizing the ecosystem. 

 

The Chinese mitten crab (pictured), which is native to China and South Korea and can scale 13-foot walls, has been spotted in Oregon for the second time

The crab, identified by its long legs, medium-build and distinctive, hair-covered claws, was discovered alive in the Willamette River (pictured) on November 17

 

In this most recent case, the crab turned up more than 100 miles from a location on the lower Columbia River, the waterway that marks Oregon's northern border with Washington.

The department said the crab was found in shallow water and collected alive by hand in mid-November. It was not returned back into the river following its capture. 

Now, wildlife officials are urgently asking the public to help look for any other mitten crabs that may still be hiding in the state's waterways.

'Photographs can be submitted through the hotline and people are encouraged to do so as crab identification can be difficult and native crabs have been misidentified as invasive,' the department warned.

Oregon's native crab species live in the ocean, bays and estuaries. Chinese mitten crabs, however, inhabit freshwater and migrate to brackish water to breed. 

The crabs often burrow into dikes, levees and stream banks - ultimately increasing the risk of erosion and potentially harming flood control and water supply systems. 

Measuring about three inches wide, the species is typically brownish-orange or greenish-brown colored with a notch between their eyes.

They also have four spines along each side of their top shell, making them easily distinguishable from any native US crab. 

 

In one alarming incident, several long-legged mitten crabs escaped from a concrete holding tank with walls a staggering 18 feet high

The crabs may enter the country through illegal food trade channels before being released alive into state waters - potentially harming native fish populations and destabilizing the ecosystem

 

However, officials have cautioned the public to watch for the hairy shore crab, a native Oregon species that also has a distinctive patch of hair on the inside of its claws. 

Capturing the creature involves setting up artificial habitats and analyzing water and substrate samples for environmental DNA unique to the Chinese mitten crab, according to the department.

The agency has since called on the public to report suspected illegal mitten crab sales and has begun monitoring programs to find any remaining crabs lurking in Oregon’s rivers. 

PSU’s Center for Lakes and Reservoirs began surveying the Columbia and Willamette Rivers and checking shorelines for any signs of mitten crabs, including molted carapaces, or top shells. 

'It is important to correctly identify this species and report it to 1-866-INVADER or report it online via The Oregon Invasive Species reporting hotline form,' officials said. 

Originally from the coastal rivers and estuaries of the Yellow Sea in East Asia, Chinese mitten crabs had already established an invasive population in the San Francisco Bay Area by 1980, according to the Smithsonian.

In certain regions of the Bay, annual mitten crab catches reached 100,000 to 800,000 between 1998 and 2000. However, the species has remained undetected since 2010. 

The creatures were first confirmed in the Mid-Atlantic in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2005. From 2005 to 2014, they were reported from Maryland to Connecticut. 

 

Mitten crabs have recently appeared on the East Coast, first spotted in New York’s Nissequogue River last winter and more recently in the Hudson River and Long Island Sound

 

From time to time, the invasive species has been recorded in the Great Lakes and along the US Gulf Coast, yet it has not formed a breeding population in any of these regions, according to the outlet.

Mitten crabs have recently appeared on the East Coast, first spotted in New York’s Nissequogue River last winter and more recently in the Hudson River and Long Island Sound, according to a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation release.

The Smithsonian advises documenting the precise location of any crab sighting, preserving the specimen on ice - or in rubbing alcohol if needed as a last resort - and photographing it at close range.

Above all, never return one of these 'hairy' creatures to the water alive.