Ronnie and Reggie on a reproduction roll
Proud parents Ronnie and Regina Cray - Reggie to her friends - are celebrating the arrival of their newborn babies, all 200 of them.
Using the ‘birthing pool’ aquarium at Brockhole, the Lake District Visitor Centre on the shores of Windermere, the crayfish are set to become an even bigger attraction as offspring start to grow.
White-clawed crayfish - the country’s largest freshwater invertebrate and only native member of their species - have been causing a stir since they arrived at Brockhole in spring.
The centre’s team leader, Nicky Wood, said the breed was in danger of becoming extinct in Britain as little was being done to conserve them.
She added: “We are over the moon that we now have an extra 200 to add to dwindling stocks. We bought a large tank hoping we’d get plenty of babies and Ronnie and Reggie have done us proud.
“We aim to release the young into the wild when they are old enough and conditions are right. We will be working with experts to make sure we do everything to safeguard their survival.
“The babies will be spending their first couple of weeks burying themselves under sand, which isn’t great for our visitors, but after that we’re expecting them to come out and party!”
“We’ve got lots going on at Brockhole over the holidays but this really is something totally different. If people care about crays we might be able to boost numbers and help the species survive.”
Closely related to lobsters, crayfish live in clean streams, rivers and lakes. They eat plants, insects and sometimes each other.
Find out more by linking to our crayfish section.
