It may have been more than 40 years since Jaws put the fear of God into people going for a dip in the sea, so new footage of a tarantula getting its swim on is going to give anyone the creeps, who thought it was safe to go in.
Tbqh, I’m not scared of spiders. Heights: horrible. Clowns: terrifying. This little fella or lady – we shouldn’t presume a spider’s sex – with its legs going nineteen to the dozen as it swims through a body of water, is captivating.
It’s quite relaxing from where I’m sat. Swimming is the last thing I want to be doing on a Saturday afternoon after a Halloween party. Scratch that. Being at work is the last thing I want to be doing on a Saturday afternoon after a Halloween party. Having to swim comes an easy second.
If you are of the arachnophobe nature, then this may not be as tranquil viewing. Or maybe it is? Does watching the nasty spider flap about make you feel safer? Answers in the comments please.
Big Bend Ranch State Park posted the video to Facebook on October 31, with the caption:
Did you know that tarantulas can “swim?” With their legs acting as paddles, they can row across water. Happy Halloween!
I didn’t. There, I said it. Turns out quite a few others have been intrigued by this tarantula doing a Michael Phelps impression with almost 300,000 views clocking up since the video was posted.
While the video cuts off when it looks like the spider has given up and conked out, Big Bend Ranch State Park said the tarantula used the ‘current to help drift to the shore’ in response to comments asking about the furry thing’s survival.
In one of the biggest animal based stories of the year, in September we reported on a big mother of a spider eating a locust.
Now, in all fairness, the insect was put before the spider against its will which isn’t a fair fight IMHO, but who’s to say it wouldn’t have met the same fate had it purposefully chose to approach the critter?
Either way, this vid has hit 11 MILLION views in the last two months. People just can’t get enough of spiders whether they’re swimming, or having a bit of scran.
One commenter wrote in reaction to the video:
It’s sick. That was someones hand leading the insect. I’m disgusted. If they walk into it themselves it’s nature. But with the assistance of someone. It sickens me. [sic]
But would not feeding a pet also sicken you? Checkmate.
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Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.