Just when it seemed like 2024 wasn’t so bad, there’s this:
A GIGANTIC spider was discovered in Australia. It’s 3.1 inches from foot to foot, and experts say it’s the largest known male “funnel-web spider.” For perspective, the spider is BIGGER THAN A BASEBALL.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, it wasn’t found by a scientist out in the wild . . . some random person came across it. (???) They didn’t say how that happened, so leave that up to your imagination.
And . . . it’s poisonous. VERY poisonous. Funnel-web spiders are the world’s most venomous spiders. The venom is packed with 40 different toxic proteins . . . and its raw venom is the only way to make life-saving anti-venom.
The spider has been named Hercules, and he’s living at a wildlife sanctuary in Australia now. The spider keeper there said, “[Hercules] has some of the biggest fangs I’ve ever seen.” They will use Hercules’ venom to create anti-venom.
