If you thought you were able to escape creepy-crawly critters by hopping in the water, think again.
The Independent, which cites the American Psychiatric Association, states that phobias affect one out of ten people in the U.S. Of that percentage that has a phobia, up to 40% are scared of bugs/spiders, mice, snakes, and bats.
Due to their sheer size, tarantulas often draw more terrified reactions than most other spiders or insects. Yet there really is no reason to fear them.
Tarantulas are fairly harmless, since they have a mild venom. Though anyone who has been bitten by one knows its bite packs a painful punch.
Some people actually own tarantulas as pets. But many others remain fearful of them, which is why the video we’re about to share with you may be like watching your worst nightmare come to life.
The video, which was filmed at the Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas in 2018, shows a fairly large tarantula taking off across the water for a leisurely swim. Not many people have seen tarantulas swim before, so the sight was a surprising one to those who came across the video.
It took no time for the clip to go viral.
Haley L. Yorke, a tarantula researcher at the University of Guelph, was quoted by The Animals Page as she described how tarantulas swim and why seeing a swimming tarantula is such a rare sight.
“Swimming mostly entails paddling with their legs in the direction of dry land, as being on the water is dangerous, and exposes tarantulas to predation from both below the water’s surface and from the air,” she said. “Thus, tarantulas usually avoid swimming unless they absolutely have to, in order to escape flooding, terrestrial predators, etc.”
So you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that tarantulas don’t just hop in the water for a leisurely swim. They want to get out of there as fast as you want them to leave!
If you’re more intrigued than creeped out by the idea of swimming tarantulas, then go ahead and check out the below video to see one taking a dip in Peru!