Australians quickly get used to the idea that the country’s wildlife appears to be out to do them harm.

Poisonous spiders and snakes lurk underfoot, while the waters are either croc-infested or home to sharp-toothed sharks.

A spider bite can cause an awful lot of pain to a human. But to smaller animals, they can be deadly.

An Aussie proved that after capturing on camera a huge huntsman spider readying an unlucky pygmy possum for its dinner.

Sometimes known as giant crab spiders, this eight-legged venomous creepy-crawly was spotted with its prey dangling above a door in Tasmania, an island state in the south-east of Australia.

Pygmy possums grow to around 5cm-12cm in size and reach about seven grams in weight on average, meaning they are similar in size to British field mice.

It would have proved to be a massive feast for the hungry huntsman if it had been allowed to devour it in peace.

Tasmanian resident Justine Latton last year shared her husband's photos of the gruesome meal via the Facebook group Tasmanian Insects and Spiders.

Her post quickly went viral, garnering more than 5,000 shares in 24 hours.

In the photo, the huntsman hangs head-first from a grey metal door hinge and grips its immobilised prey by its neck.

The spider is not all that much bigger than the possum it was looking to munch on.

Mrs Latton's other half captured the images at a lodge in Tasmania's Mount Field National Park while doing some repair work.

Thankfully, it was spotted by her husband’s co-worker before it decided to go for any human-sized prey.

The two colleagues captured the spider in an empty ice-cream container and released the huntsman outside the lodge.

The arachnid was so desperate to get away, it did a runner as soon as the box was opened, leaving its possum meal behind.

Huntsman spiders tend to like to chow down on insects, reptiles and even other spiders.

But they do sometimes go for a meatier meal and are known to attack small mammals, as seen in the example of the pygmy possum.

They, according to the website Live Science, have been known to devour bats and larger possums.

On average, a huntsman spider's leg span can reach up to 15 cm, while their bodies measure about 2 cm in length, according to the Australian Museum.

The huntsman spider is so called due to their quick speed, large size and tendency to hunt down prey.

When it comes to securing their dinner, they use their venom to immobilise their prey, and have been known to cause serious harm on humans due to their bite

Despite this, the spider's venom is not deadly to humans.

Those unfortunate enough to get nipped by a huntsman spider, bite symptoms can include swelling, nausea, headaches, pain, vomiting, irregular pulse rate, and heart palpitations.

It is more likely that a male huntsman spider will sink their fangs into a human rather than a female.

Mothers-to-be will only cause harm if there is a threat to their egg sacs or babies.

Source:
courtesy of MIRROR

by Patrick Daly

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