Reptile Park Wants To Know Where in Newcastle Monster Funnel Web Was Found

BY ISABEL EVERETT

The Australian Reptile Park is eager to found out which suburb a giant funnel web spider was found in, after it was dropped off at a collection point at John Hunter Hospital.

The huge arachnid was dubbed by keepers as "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson".

Keepers are hoping to find more of the large spiders for their antivenom program.

In January the Australian reptile park encouraged people to safely catch the venomous spiders, only after brushing up on the correct first aid should they be bitten, for their antivenom program.

The venom milked from the spiders saves up to 300 lives per year.

Recent rainy weather followed by intense heat has provided the perfect conditions for funnel web spiders to thrive.

Director of the Australian Reptile Park, Liz Gabriel, says "People can bring any collected spiders to the Reptile Park itself., however if they cant get to us we have drop of zones around the Central Coast and Newcastle."

"All facilities are provided with a spider safety kit to house the spiders until the Australian Reptile Park staff can come and pick them up."

                                        Image Credit: The Australian Reptile Park

                                                   Image Credit: The Australian Reptile Park

Reptile Park calling on people to catch Funnel-web spiders

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The bad news is the biggest funnel-web spiders are found in Newcastle, but the good news is The Australian Reptile Park want them.

Recent warm humid nights have the spiders scuttling, coming out of their hiding places, leading to an increase in bites around the region.

The funnel-web spider anti-venom program at the Reptile Park is saving lives, creating anti-venom vaccines, but what they need from the public are the spiders themselves.

Male funnel-webs are milked for their venom and it takes 70 spiders for one injection of the vaccine.

The venom is far more toxic than a snake, and the milking process is particularly labour intensive and a dangerous task for keepers.

Ranger Mick Tate says a large collection of 500 spiders is ideal in order to keep up supply and there are significant challenges in getting such a large amount.

"Our role at the reptile park is to amass a very large collection of male funnel web spiders - they're the ones we want, the very toxic one - and we perpetually milk them and our big issue is that the male funnel-webs only have a relatively short life span and live about four years and we can't determine their sex until they're about two and a half years old."

The Reptile Park are calling on people in the Hunter region to send them any Funnel-web spiders they come across, by safely catching them and bringing them to a drop off zone.

The park's website features a safety and capture video going through the step by step process of catching the spiders safely.

The best place to drop off captured funnel-web spiders is the John Hunter Hospital.

Image courtesy of The Australian Reptile Park:
http://reptilepark.com.au/animals/spiders/australian-spiders/sydney-funnel-web-spider/