PRIVACY
World's biggest spider found in UK after travelling 5,000 miles in shipping container
The Huntsman spider is not native to the UK, but was accidentally shipped over from China, the venomous arachnid can grow up to a 12 inch leg span and is known to eat birds and lizards
The world’s biggest spider was discovered in the UK after it travelled 5,000 miles in a shipping container.
A venomous Huntsman spider was found in Hull after surviving in a cargo shop for around a month during its trip.
The spider, which can grow up to 12 inches in leg span, was shipped thousands of miles from China accidentally.
It gave staff quite the scare when they unpacked it, and not unwisely, they decided to leg it.
Whilst the arachnid’s bite is not deadly to humans, it can still cause heart palpitations, vomiting and headaches.
On Friday, the RSPCA captured the spider safely.
A spokesman for the animal welfare charity said: "Insp Boyd collected this Huntsman spider.
"He fancied a holiday so he hopped on a shipping container in China and ended up in Hull.
"He gave staff quite a fright.
"He's now having some R&R at a specialist rescue centre"
Worryingly for arachnophobes, this is far from the first time the terrifying spider has made its way to the UK.
Two years ago, as the country was emerging from its first lockdown, a warehouse in Southwold, Suffolk underwent a similar discovery.
A container was discovered to contain the exotic arachnid, and staff quickly called the RSPCA in again.
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At the time, RSPCA inspector Jason Finch said: “Huntsman spiders can grow up to 30cm (12in) in leg span so are a large variety.
“This spider was on the smaller side and was only around 6cm (2.5in) from leg to leg.
“He'd obviously been in the container for some time, without access to food and water, but he was still active and seemed to be OK.”
He went onto say that finding exotic spiders, insects or repitiles in shipping or removal containers actually “happens quite often”.
He added: “These creatures are often picked up by mistake and end up being shut inside containers or boxes.
“Huntsman spiders are venomous but are not dangerous to people although they can give a nasty bite so we would always advise caution around them.
“We always advise treating any unidentified animal with caution until identified accurately and not to try to handle an accidentally imported animal that has been discovered.”
Instead of building webs, huntsman spiders earn their names by tracking down and killing their prey.
They originate from parts of Australia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and the Americas.
The giant spider grows to around six inches in leg span on average and several huntsman species use a bizarre cartwheel like motion to travel around, by rolling on its legs.
Because they are not UK natives, releasing these spiders into the wild, or allowing them to escape, would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
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