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Mount Krakatau when it erupted. |
In 1620, the Dutch set up a naval station on the islands around the volcano. Sometime in the late 17th century an attempt was made to establish a pepper plantation on Krakatau but the Dutch colonial authorities generally ignored the islands. However by the 1880s, the islands were without any permanent inhabitants. The nearest settlement was the island of Sebesi, 12km away with a population of 3,000.
Mount Krakatau has been dormant for 200 years, but erupted in August 1883. Since then, it has reconstructed itself from its remains and has been named Anak Krakatau which means "Child of Krakatau". No humans live at Anak Krakatau now in the present, as scientists who are studying the area have warned people to stay out of a 3km zone around the island.
Surprisingly, these scientists have discovered several rare species of spiders living in the 4 Krakatau islands. Since the eruption in 1883, 44 species of jumping spiders have been found. Out of the 36 species that were found during the 1984-1991 surveys, Anak Krakatau has the most number of 28 species. 22 species were found in Rakata, 20 on Panjang and 16 on Sertung.
*For more information on the spiders, please visit: http://www.arachnologia.edu.pl/Zabkaworks/krakatau.pdf
