var arrayFacts = [
"Born on the Bayou:
The state of Louisiana produces 100 million pounds of crawfish each year. By far, most of the crawfish come from the Atchafalaya Basin.
The rest of the creatures come from the various ponds, swamps, and bayous located throughout the state. These habitats cover over 135,000 acres of fresh waterways.",
"The Picky Crawfish:
Crawfish are freshwater crustaceans, so they do not usually inhabit the saltwater of the Gulf.
In addition, crawfish can't live in very polluted waters, and generally prefer warm habitats because the waters do not freeze during winter.",
"Hidden in the Shadows:
Crawfish love to hide beneath rocks, especially after they have molted. When they do not have their hard exoskeleton covering their bodies, they are particularly vulnerable to attack.
Fortunately, crawfish are more generally more active at night, since darkness conceals them from predators.",
"Crawfoods:
The wild crawfish diet is comprised of insects, worms, larvae, corn, algae, salmon eggs, tadpoles, worms, snails, and aquatic plants.",
"Life is Short:
Crawfish live for 2 years or less--quite a short amount of time!
By the time a crawfish is one, it will have reached adulthood and will only live out their full two year lifespan if they are lucky.",
"The Things They Carry:
Most crawfish mate and lay their eggs in the spring. The female crawfish carries her eggs against her abdomen, and can produce anywhere from 10 to 800 babies!
The eggs darken in color and then become translucent as they develop. ",
"Cousins with Claws:
Crawfish and lobsters are related, which explains why crawfish look like miniature lobsters.
While lobsters live in saltwater oceans, seas, and gulfs, crawfish only live in freshwater ponds, swamps, and bayous. ",
"Fortune 500!
There are over 500 different species of crawfish, most of which live in North America.
Of these species, the vast majority are along the Southeastern Coast of the United States and the Pacific Northwest.",
"Early Curfew:
The adult crawfish eats all night from dusk until dawn. Then it will crawl back under a rock or into log in the water to hide while it rests.
Usually, only very young crawfish are active during the day. If the adult crawfish is feeling adventurous, it will venture out on a very cloudy day.",
"Slow When Safe:
Crawfish move very slowly unless they are in danger. When threatened, they will flip their tail back and forth very quickly, swimming backward to escape.",
"Cajun Delicacy:
Louisiana's French Acadians (also known as the Cajuns) have been eating crawfish from the Atchafalaya Basin since the French first settled in the state.
The Acadians were the first to call these crustaceans crawfish. Outside of Louisiana, they are known as crayfish.",
"Crawfish Crooks:
One of the biggest predators of crawfish is the raccoon. Since the fur industry shut down in Louisiana, the number of raccoons has risen so high that the mammals are threatening the crawfish population!
Raccoons are causing trouble for people that catch crawfish for a living, as well! They turn over traps in the water and eat everything inside, including the bate! ",
"Crawfish Big and Small:
The average length for a crawfish is 3 inches long and the smallest crawfish is only 2.5 cm long.
Tasmania's Astacopsis gouldi is one of the biggest species of crawfish in the world. It can grow up to 40 cm in length and weighs up to 8 lbs!
Like most crustaceans, the crawfish is covered in a hard exoskeleton and have to shed this skeleton periodically in order to grow. Even the biggest crawfish are very vulnerable to attack right after they molt. ",
"Creative Crawcooks:
The crawfish is the state crustacean of Louisiana and is also used in some of the most popular Cajun dishes of the south.
Southern people often call the crawfish a craw daddy or a crawdad, but outside of the south, it is called a crayfish.
People from Louisiana often prepare dishes like crawfish po’ boys, crawfish étouffée, and crawfish beignets.",
"State Crustacean:
On July 14, 1983 the crawfish became the official crustacean of the state, and Louisiana became the first state to have an official crustacean.",
"An Aztec Favorite:
The crawfish was a major source of nutrition for the Aztecs of Mexico.
In Mexico, the crawfish is still a popular favorite, typically boiled and eaten with spicy sauce. ",
"Menace to Aquarium Society:
Crawfish are kept as pets in freshwater aquariums, but tend to eat any small fish within reach.
Fortunately, crawfish are open minded and will also eat plants, fish food and shrimp pellets.",
"Crevice Fish:
The word crayfish (crawfish) comes from an Old French word, which means crevice, referring to the places crayfish like to hide.
They can live up to 10 feet below the ground in small areas where they can hide from predators in lakes, ponds, and swamps. ",
"A Crayfish By Any Other Name...
In New Zealand, crawfish are called freshwater crays. Crayfish is the name that is given to a species of lobster instead.
Other common names for the crawfish are mudbugs, carmels, yabbies, and spoondogs.",
"Baby Patch:
When a female crawfish is 'pregnant' some people say she is 'in berry.'
During pregnancy, eggs attached to the female's jointed abdomen are fertilized by the male crawfish. Soon, several eggs fetuses will develop! She is considered ‘in berry’ because the mass of eggs against her abdomen resemble a berry.
It takes anywhere from two to twenty weeks for eggs to hatch, depending on the temperature of the water."];