A deadly donation has broken records at the Australian Reptile Park.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
With fangs that could pierce a human fingernail, a massive 7.9cm funnel-web spider has been gifted to the Central Coast park's antivenom program.
The huge specimen, dubbed Hercules, was handed into Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital spider drop-off location.
Spiders handed into designated drop-off locations are donated to a milking program that produces antivenom and saves up to 300 lives each year.
Spider Keeper Emma Teni said the park relied on public donations to keep venom supplies going.
"We're used to having pretty big funnel-web spiders donated to the park, however receiving a male funnel-web this big is like hitting the jackpot," she said.
"Whilst female funnel web spiders are venomous, males have proven to be more lethal. With having a male funnel web this size in our collection, his venom output could be enormous, proving incredibly valuable for the Park's venom program."
The native species is often found along mainland Australia's east coast and in Tasmania.
Ms Tenis encouraged people to safely collect spiders if they intended to donate.
"People can bring any collected funnel web spiders to the Reptile Park itself," Ms Teni said.
"However, if they can't get to us, we have drop-off zones around Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle and all facilities are provided with a spider safety kit to house the spiders until the Australian Reptile Park staff can come and pick them up each week."
