The Golden Orb spider, the female of which can reach the size of a dinner plate, lives in the rain forests of Australia. We had a chance to get up close and personal with a few on a recent journey into the Karanda Rain Forest. The Golden Orb is also known as the “bird eating spider” because their webs are large enough and their hungers big enough to cope with sparrow-sized birds.
Up close and personal with a Golden Orb spider!
Their bite is painful but not deadly unlike the Sydney funnel web, possibly the world’s most poisonous spider and Redback, the latter of which likes to hide under toilet seat lids. Take heed you ladies who gripe at your partners about leaving the lid up. In Australia you might want to lift the lid up and check before sitting down!
Of course you are more likely to die from an allergic reaction to a bee sting than from a spider bite here in Australia unless you foolishly go rummaging bare handed through piles of leaves or blunder into the bush unprotected.
A Golden Orb spider
So don’t cancel your holiday to the wonderful land of Oz on account of the spiders…but also remember to keep clear of fresh water rivers and estuaries as the twenty foot “salties” or salt water crocs may make a snack of you. More about those later…
Photo Credits
Photos by George Burden – All Rights Reserved
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