WikimediaIf you have an irrational fear of spiders, you may want to look away now.
Hundreds of the biggest spiders found in the U.K. have been released into the wild… on purpose no less.
The Fen raft spiders have a span of just under three inches and are quite horrifying to look at, oh, and they grow to the size of a rat! Why? Would you do this!?
YouTubeWell, it’s not just to scare us all shitless apparently, it’s all for a pretty good cause, as these not so little buggers are an endangered species and their numbers are massively dwindling in Britain.
They like to dwell in the wetlands of southern England and Wales and enjoy munching on smaller spiders and other invertebrates.
Oh, and they can catch fish too- which is pretty fucking terrifying:
But, understandably, in their conservation effort to stop these guys dying out, Chessington World of Adventures zoo keepers have been now rewarded for helping to reintroduce the spiders back into its natural habitats.
They’ve been working tirelessly for the last five years to help these ailing arachnids, which are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act due to their high risk of extinction.
And because of their efforts, the population of these spiders have almost doubled and they no longer need rearing at the zoo to ensure their survival.
WikimediaAn absolutely amazing effort by these guys, definitely, but you won’t see me hiking around any British wetlands anytime soon.
