Tarantulas live in underground burrows and usually come out in the fall (Picture: National Park Service)
Not a deer or large wildlife, but rather a big spider caused a massive crash as a driver tried to avoid hitting and killing it.
Swiss travelers visiting Death Valley National Park braked suddenly to avoid running over and crushing a tarantula crossing California State Route 190 over Halloween weekend.
A 24-year-old motorcyclist from Canada then crashed into the back of the Swiss couple’s camper van, according to the National Park Service (NPS). An NPS ambulance rushed the Canadian to Desert View Hospital in Pahrump.
Meanwhile, the tarantula walked away unscathed.
‘Please drive slowly, especially going down steep hills in the park,’ stated Superintendent Mike Reynolds, who was the first park service worker at the scene east of Towne Pass on Saturday.
‘Our roads still have gravel patches due to flood damage, and wildlife of all sizes are out.’
The condition of the motorcyclist and if the couple suffered any injuries was not immediately known.
Tarantulas mostly live in underground burrows and are ‘slow moving and nonaggressive’, according to the NPS.
They are mostly seen in the fall when male tarantulas aged eight to 10 leave their burrows to look for females. The females often kill and eat the males after mating, but they seldom live more than a few months more even if they survive their counterparts.
Female tarantulas can live for a quarter century and mate several times.
The bite of a tarantula is not deadly to humans and can feel similar to a bee sting.
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Swiss travelers visiting Death Valley National Park braked suddenly to avoid killing a tarantula on the road.
