Zoo keepers have just released hundreds of rare spiders into the wild… and some of them span THREE inches
The fen raft spider is the biggest species in the UK and Chessington have let 400 of them free
Are you terrified of spiders?
If the answer is yes, you probably won’t be thrilled with Chessington World of Adventure right now.
The Fen Raft Spider is the biggest species in the UK with a span of up to three inches
The Surrey zoo has just released hundreds of the UK’S BIGGEST spiders into the wild.
The fen raft spider has a massive span of THREE INCHES and is the largest of the UK’s 660 species of eight-legged critters.
Now the boffins at Chessington have released them into the wild as part of a conservation effort for the endangered species.
Which is not good news for arachnophobes.
The fen raft are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act due to their high risk of extinction.
But zoo keepers have working on a breeding programme since 2011 in a bid to boost numbers.
As part of the conservation efforts, the population of fen raft spiders almost doubled in the UK and zoos no longer have to rear the spiders to ensure their survival.
In 2014, it was reported they had a bumper breeding season on the Norfolk and Suffolk broads.
Fen raft spiders feed off smaller spiders and can even tackle prey as big as a small fish.
But the females are also “very caring mothers”, according to buglife.co.uk.
Females can reach up to 7cm across.
But there is one glimmer of hope for spider haters.
The cigar-shaped spider doesn’t lurk in the corners of houses but prefers the watery surroundings of the wetlands.
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According to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust: “It is large, beautiful and found not in dry dusty corners, but on sparkling water surfaces in our richest wetlands.
“One of our rarest species, fen raft spiders were first discovered in the UK at the Trust’s Redgrave and Lopham Fen reserve in 1956. They have since been found at only two more sites – in southern England and South Wales.
“With dark, cigar-shaped bodies highlighted by white or cream go-faster stripes, and reaching lengths of 23mm, the fen raft spider is a striking animal.
“It lives around the margins of water bodies such as fen pools and grazing marsh ditches where it sits and waits for prey. It is a formidable hunter above and below water, taking prey much larger than itself, including large dragonfly larvae and even sticklebacks!"
