UK: Arachnophobes, the spider sized of human palm, in the UK, might finally be the worst nightmare. The giant spiders, measuring up to the size of a human’s palm, are reproducing at an accelerated rate across the country. Chester Zoo saw the population explosion as their zoo released thousands of Fen Raft spiders back in the country after it was realised that the species was put in terminal decline, near a decade ago in the year 2014.
Fast forward to 2024, the zoo has told that more than 10,000 breeding females were spread across and flourishing.
“Ten years ago we helped release thousands of giant spiders back into the UK. The Fen Raft Spiders were bred right here at the zoo, and we’re super happy to report there are now more than 10,000 breeding females and they’ve just had the biggest mating season on record!” Chester Zoo said in a statement.
“We are very proud of the role we were able to play in this incredible conservation success story. We ensured the survival of a species heading towards extinction” Chester Zoo added.
In 2011, the arachnid faced an existential crisis: Chester Zoo bred hundreds of baby spiders in individual test tubes from its 51-hectare Cheshire base in England. In a highly secure breeding facility, scientists fed tiny flies to the spiderlings with tweezers.
“Eventually, the young spiders grew strong enough to be returned to their natural habitat, which our partners worked to restore, and we released them in their hundreds!” the zoo said.
“These spiders have a highly important role to play in maintaining the high aquatic diversity that we have in these grazing ditches across our reserves. Females are remarkable in terms of size and, frankly speaking, extremely beautiful-actually, an absolute pleasure to see! Tim Strudwick site manager at RSPB Mid Yare nature reserves.
While most people have an repulsion to spiders, the zoo says Fen Raft spiders are harmless to humans. They have an eye-catching white stripe running along their body.
Unlike most spiders which wait in webs for prey capture, the Fen Raft spiders prefer to wait there on a body of water using their front legs as legs resting on it. Sensing vibrations of the small hairs on their legs made by the prey, moving through the water, permits them to jump onto this prey quickly.