Another Critter!

There's a part of me that loves the adventure of living in the bush with the variety of birds and wildlife and trees and plants - the sounds, smells, sights, and sensations are so much more than in the city.

Well, a couple of nights back, we were able to add to the 'sights' on our list.....as we saw for the first time what is called a 'Baboon Spider' - a type of Tarantula.  He (or she) was certainly the largest spider I have ever seen!

As you can see from the photo, the span of its legs is wider than the length of the door hinge - so he is about 11cm across!  That ain't no small spider!!!!!!!

And yes they are poisonous - not deadly, but pretty nasty.  But thankfully getting bitten by one is probably not a daily concern as they live in burrows in the ground normally and only walk about at night and I have absolutely no plan to put my hand near one!  And although he was right by our back door, he was on the outside of the door and was way too big to fit under the door.

In its own way, I think it is actually a pretty 'good looking' spider as far as spiders go, with those black and white strips on his legs!  What do you think?