Dangerous animal of the month—Brazilian wandering spider

While researching this month’s dangerous animal, we learned two things: first, spiders make humans hysterical; and second, spiders are woefully misunderstood. Apparently most of our fears about spiders are myths, from “the average person swallows four spiders per year in her sleep,” to “My neighbor was bitten by a brown recluse and his leg nearly had to be amputated!” (Read spider mythbusters here). The intensity of our angst about spiders is nearly matched by spider experts’ exasperation with us for being so irrational. In truth, it turns out spiders really aren’t as dangerous as we think they are. Except for one. Yes, there is a spider that justifies at least some of our fears: the Brazilian wandering spider, also known as the banana spider (its common name is based on the its nomadic habit of hitching rides out of Central America on bunches of bananas). While a few other arachnids have deadly bites, they don’t kill as many people as this one. Check out this creepy National Geographic video to see why. But be prepared: it’s not for the faint of heart.

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