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A giant Huntsman spider, which is usually found in tropical areas of the world such as Australia and Asia, has been found in a shipping container in Scotland.
The female huntsman spider is searching for a specialist home after it was found in Aggreko’s manufacturing premises in Dumbarton.
Staff at the Scottish base trapped the giant creepy crawly before it was safely removed by the Scottish SPCA.
Animal rescue officer Emma Bonner was first to arrive at the scene. She said, “We were called to a manufacturing business on Stirling Road, Dumbarton, on Friday morning, after we received reports of a large spider.
“When I arrived one of the employees had managed to get the spider inside a clear bag within a container. We didn’t know if it was venomous.”
Arnold Bretman, development engineer at Aggreko Manufacturing, was brave enough to catch the spider.
He said: “It was about five inches across the legs, so fairly obvious that it was no ordinary local spider.
“It was scurrying around the factory and people were hopping around to avoid it, so I collected it.
“The Scottish SPCA girl turned up with a small plastic tub, but the spider was too big to fit.
“It was identified as a Chinese Huntsman that probably got into one of our containers in China, which had been at sea for at least a month. How it survived for that length of time and then in our climate, is amazing.”
A spider expert identified it as a Huntsman, and it is believed to be a female due to a yellow stripe on its abdomen.
Scottish SPCA chief inspector Fiona Henderson said the “tough little spider” did well to survive in such a cold climate.
“If a Huntsman spider bites you it will not kill you but it does contain venom. If you do get bitten by one it can be extremely painful.
“Because it’s a Huntsman it’s not native to this country so we can’t release the spider anywhere in Scotland.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
