Footage of a huntsman spider in Australia — one so large that it had no problem carrying the corpse of a plump mouse — has amazed the internet. The arachnid's intention was to eat the dead rodent.
The fearsome fauna of Australia is still the subject of wonder to many of us. From deadly snakes and crocodiles that wouldn't say no to human flesh, to poisonous jellyfish and bizarre creatures of the sea, the continent hasn't run out of reasons to beguile us.
Netizens on social media are gasping at an amateur video showing another unusual situation from the Land Down Under. A man posted the footage on Facebook, leaving thousands of people across the world impressed, once again, by the Australian fauna.
Jason Womal, a tradesman from Coppabella in Queensland, was headed for work at half past midnight on Monday when his neighbor made him an offer he couldn't say no to. The man posted the story along with the scary video.
"So, I am just about to leave for work about 0030 and my neighbor says, 'You want to see something cool?' and I say 'Hell yeah,'" he explained in the post.
Perhaps one indication that the video would become viral was the fact that Womal and his friend were mesmerized themselves.
"What's he gonna do with him? Man, that is so cool," one of the men is heard saying in the video, unable to hide his enthusiasm at the peculiar scene.
Within less than a day, the video was seen by a staggering 8.7 million people, reaching more than 100,000 shares. The video posting was followed by an update: they had decided to adopt the spider.
"OK, guys, so [we are] just letting you all know that the spider is fine. We have named him Hermie; we have adopted him, and he is now running his own extermination business out of our town, Coppabella. Oh, and he is now paying rent. Lol," announced Hermie's new roomies in a Facebook post.
Graham Millage, manager of the Australian Museum arachnology collection, explained that the occurrence is unusual, but not out of this world, and that it sometimes happens that spiders carry vertebrates.
"This is the first time I've seen one catch a mouse, but I have seen huntsmen catch geckos," explained Millage. "I've seen a redback spider catch a snake in its web. I've seen golden orb spiders catch birds."
Owing to the rarity of this event, it's natural for people from other places to be horrified at the image of the "web" of life in action.
"OK, so Australia's off my list of places I want to visit, but back to that big ass spider, I'm thinking if he's eating mice, I'm probably next on his list. I'd just move. Like, how do you kill a spider bigger than your shoe," commented Tamika Nabors.
Curious about Hermie's mouse breakfast? Watch the video below:
