OK, so don’t read this if you have beef with spiders. I’m not exactly an arachnophobe but if this thing came within spitting distance of me, I’d be galloping a mile in the other direction, fast enough to make Usain Bolt blush.
Of course, my first primitive instinct would be to kill it, but animals and insects, no matter how ugly or terrifying, are our friends.
Yes, I may have inhaled a Chicken Legend today, and yes prior to that I might have accidentally stuffed a tuna and cucumber sandwich down my mouth, but it’s the thought that counts.
Someone who isn’t a total hypocrite is Barnyard Betty, of Barnyard Betty’s Rescue fame, who keeps Facebook updated with the critters she finds and salvages from a certain sticky end.
Her most recent – a f*cking huge God-awful gangly b*stard Huntsman spider – has sent some social media users into a spin, despite not being harmful.
Out of some 40,000 species of spiders, only a handful are considered dangerous.
Of all of the many thousands of spider species in the US, for example, only black widow and brown recluse spiders can harm humans.
Still, this spider, named ‘Charlotte’, looks like the type that can do one arm pushups while drinking cans of Monster with the others.
Beautiful Charlotte the spider, one of my best rescues yet :-)To answer some of your questions:She is a Huntsman…
Posted by Barnyard Betty's Rescue on Friday, 19 October 2018
Betty wrote:
Beautiful Charlotte the spider, one of my best rescues yet :-) To answer some of your questions: She is a Huntsman Spider and we are located in Queensland Australia and yes she is very real and very large and not photo shopped!! [sic]
I released her here on the farm after rescuing her so I can’t get anymore photos or video her I’m sorry. She was going to be killed by humans. She was a beautiful, calm spider, not aggressive in any way and like most spiders she just wanted to go about her business eating bugs and living in peace. She didn’t or doesn’t need to be killed! Poor spiders are so misunderstood!
All creatures great and small are welcome here at Barnyard Betty’s Rescue a safe haven no matter how you look!! [sic].
‘You’re a kind soul Betty! I agree, spiders and so many other creatures are either misunderstood or people just don’t like the way they look,’ someone wrote in response.
‘This planet belongs to all living creatures and all deserve to live out their lives. Most are just trying to live and survive and have it much rougher than us humans.’
While another said:
I have to say that a I am somewhat scared of spiders and meeting one this big would probably see me scaling the nearest tree but I never ever kill them and I am tremendously impressed that you saved this rather incredible little beastie.
I don’t know why they scare me, those eight legs I suppose. But good people such as yourself do encourage me to try and look at them differently.
You can help Betty out in her general bits and bats right here.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected].
