I thought this was funny/sad. Can it be both at the same time? Here's the link, but I'll post the text of the story: http://www.billsbest.com/thtarantula.html OK, tarantulas aren't insects at all. They're arachnids. But they have those chitinous shells and gooshy insides, so they're more than a little like insects. A neighbor, originally from New Zealand, has relatives all over the world, including Indonesia. In the course of a business trip he told his Indonesian cousins that he'd be stopping in for a visit, but that his plane was getting in very late at night. Because they had young children, it wasn't practical for them to come to the airport, so he arranged for a car to bring him to their home. They said they would leave the door open for him, that he should make himself comfortable, use the guest bedroom, and they'd all enjoy breakfast together in the morning. The house was all but dark when he arrived. He came in as planned, then decided to get himself a snack before bed. He went to the kitchen, turned on a light, and started looking around. As he did so, a large tarantula emerged from between some cannisters on the counter and headed directly for him, waving its forelegs menacingly. My friend drew back in panic, then gathered himself, removed his shoe and smashed the big spider. Somewhat shaken, he abandoned his quest for a snack and went to bed. The next morning, he related his story to the family. They stared back in stunned silence. Then the kids started crying inconsolably. The tarantula, it turned out, was a family pet. It had lived in the kitchen for years, keeping it free of pests and coming out to mooch a handout whenever people were preparing food. "Imagine if I came to your house and shot your dog," his cousin wailed.
I just saw the Spidermania show on TLC recently. It was about the tarantulas in the Rain Forest. These things freakin beat up on snakes! I really dont feel much sympathy for any tarantulas.
I remember watching a show on I think South American spiders... they showed tarantulas that were a foot across. I can't go aww for anything that huge and creepy. One of the coolest battles I've ever seen captured on those nature shows was a centipede vs. a tarantula... that tarantula didn't stand a chance. I love Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.
Yeah they showed spiders eating snakes and other large animals, but then a centipede is able to overpower this spider. Of course the centipede himself was over a foot long! And yeah TLC, Animal Planet and Discovery channel rule!
