If you ever come across a creature out in the wild that seems ready to rumble, you might want to keep your distance. A small creature thrashing around in a neighborhood puddle turned out to be a crawdad ready to defend its temporary roadside home. Video shared by Chris Guzman shows the dark red crawdad standing in a shallow puddle left by recent rain. Its claws are raised above the water as it faces the people filming nearby. And it seems to be looking for a fight to defend its territory.
Guzman said he and Angi Biernat first noticed what looked like a bird flopping in the puddle. Biernat got out of their vehicle to investigate. She came back with a correction, telling Guzman it was not a bird but a crawdad, according to his account of the encounter.
Guzman then approached the puddle and tried what he called a “peace offering,” which the crawdad wanted no part of. As he leaned toward the water, the crawdad raised its claws and moved toward him rather than backing away, prompting him to pull back quickly while the crustacean held its position in the middle of the puddle.
Biernat, who recorded the video, can be heard reacting as Guzman keeps testing how close he can get, each move toward the water drawing another defensive response. The encounter ends without Guzman trying to pick up or remove the animal. The crawdad stays put, claws still raised, as the pair keep their distance.
Why the Crawdad Was in a Puddle in the First Place
Crawdads are freshwater crustaceans that normally live in streams, ponds, ditches, and wetlands. However, they can and do travel over land, especially in wet weather. Rain gives them the damp conditions they need to move across ground that would otherwise dry out their gills, so a heavy shower can send them out of a nearby waterway and across yards, roads, and driveways.
Some species are especially prone to overland travel. Certain crawfish dig burrows and spend part of their lives away from open water, surfacing in low, soggy spots after rain, and others simply relocate when their water source floods, shrinks, or gets crowded. So that puddle might have been what the crawdad thought was its new home at the time.
Why Crawdads Raise Their Claws at Threats
The claws-up posture the crawdad struck is a standard threat display. When a crawdad feels cornered, it faces the threat, spreads and raises its pincers to look bigger and to warn off whatever is approaching. Then it will move forward rather than flee if it decides that’s the better defense. It is a bluff backed by a real pinch, since the claws are strong enough to deliver a sharp nip, though they pose no serious danger to a person.
That instinct explains why this crawdad moved toward Guzman instead of away. A retreat across open pavement would have left it exposed and slow, while holding the puddle and threatening to let it defend the one bit of water it had. The safest response, and the one the encounter ended with, is exactly what the pair did: keep a respectful distance and leave the animal alone.
A crawdad on the move after rain will typically continue on its own once it is not being crowded. There’s no need to move it anywhere. But it might be fun, like these people did, to record it and pretend you’re in a fight with the little creature.