DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU'RE AFRAID OF SPIDERS
Patty Ann Malley explores the fun, the funky, the unusual online
Published: 2 days ago
PATTY ANN MALLEY
This colossal spider is your friend – really!
“Charlotte”
If you’re going to Queensland, Australia, or have friends or family thereabouts, you may want to give them the heads up that Huntsman spider “Charlotte” of Barnyard Betty’s Rescue, a farm animal sanctuary (posing on the broom above and right), is really their friend. Or, at the least, friendly.
“This big lady showed up at Barnyard Betty’s Rescue,” according to the Huffington Post, “about a year ago. Due to the mysteries of the internet, the images started going viral this week, and the sanctuary posted on Facebook to reassure (or perhaps the opposite of that?) the public that the images were not photo-shopped.”
“She was a beautiful, calm spider,” according to Barnyard Betty, who subsequently released Charlotte on the farm. “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!”
Thrillist.com says, “The Australian Museum lists huntsman spiders as having an average body length of two centimeters. Graham Milledge, an arachnologist at the Australian Museum, told Mashable that this spider is a little different than the standard huntsman. “The spider in the photo appears to be a Giant Green Huntsman Spider, Typostola barbata,” he said. “This is one of the larger species of huntsman spider found in Australia, with a leg span of over 20cm (7.8 inches), and is mainly found in eastern Queensland.”