Remember those childhood days when you caught yourself a pet spider with an insect jar your parents bought you? Imagine doing that for the greater good, taking an extremely dangerous spider and using it’s venom to create anti-venom that saves people’s lives.
Australia, home to some of nature’s beloved creatures, has some pretty terrifying creatures living amongst the lands: various types of vicious, venomous spiders are a common sight across the continent. Luckily, Australia has an anti-venom program that works nonstop to keep people safe. However, it has recently come to the public’s attention that the anti-venom program is at risk due to the low amount of donated spiders in 2016.
Not long ago, the Australian Reptile Park asked the community to do its part in catching funnel-web spiders so their venom could be milked and used to produce antidotes. The zoo itself has been the only supplier of funnel-web venom in the country since the creation of the anti-venom program back in 1981.
Residents of the surrounding area contribute their own time to catch these spiders and bring them to the zoo instead of killing them. The zoo has set safety guidelines that are constantly repeated so anyone who’s catching these spiders can keep themselves unharmed.
If you know nothing about funnel-web spiders, they can grow about 1 to 5 centimeters in length with large, powerful fangs strong enough to penetrate soft shoes and fingernails. They are primarily located in the southeastern region of Australia, but can be found in the Sydney region as well.
If left untreated, one bite from the large funnel-web spider could be fatal within an hour. Fortunately, there are no recorded deaths correlated to a bite from a funnel-web spider since the introduction of the anti-venom program.
Professionals are trained to work closely and skillfully with such dangerous creatures. Extracting a spider’s venom, which has a similar process to extracting a snake’s venom, requires patience, dexterity and courage. After the venom is properly extracted, it is sent to be converted into the antidote.
Imagine if we were running low on anti-venom in the United States, and were asked to do our part in gathering rattlesnakes or black widows. Sure, you can’t compare catching spiders to snakes, but given the scarcity and desperation, it is a possible future.
