Man died from Tarantula bite
- Thread starter Jakob
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LOL! My mom respond are exactly the same. "But.. WHY do you have those animals..??!"Originally posted by burnpile
Since no city was mentioned, I called my Mother in Munich to see if it was by chance on any of her local news. her response....
"No I didn't hear that, but it dosen't surprise me. You just hope none get out and attack your kids. You and your spiders and lizards. How can anyone love those spiders, they don't come when you call them...blah...blah...blah...God forbid if anything happen to your father and I have to live with you, you must get rid of those animals.....blah...blah...blah"
I just had to share
I love you mom.
/Lelle
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Yes newspapers do write a load of bs.
For starters, bees are very widespread and there are people out there whos job is specifically to eradicate bees, making this a lot more exposed to the public. Snakes as well, get a lot more coverage in the news etc etc.. I'm sure this is mostly due to the fact that most, if not all, of the more "hot" tarantula species are located in Africa and Asia, where people are more worried about starvation and shelter. So if it has happened, the likelyhood of it spreading overseas is pretty low.
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My parents used to be the same, but after some time they've gotten quite intrigued by them and actually enjoy a few. My mother really likes Avicularia ssp. - what a shock!
No, bee venom and snake venom ARE prone to induce anap. chock - it got nothing to do with how widespread bees are or how hot news snake bites are. Its a fact. Anyway, there are proteins in the venom that causes the allergic reaction and most probably these proteins differ in tarantula venom proteins. I will ask a friend of mine who studies venoms for more info.
Lots of people get bitten by captive old world species, and the venom works just as good in captivity as in the wild.
Besides, there are NO hot tarantulas. All you get when bitten are local pain etc. You dont get lifethreatening symptoms.
/Lelle
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By "hot" I didn't mean the same "hot" as in snakes etc.. I was simply referring to the more dangerous species, sorry for the misunderstanding.
That is very good info on the proteins...I'd really like to know more. Let me know when you hear from your friend and what he has to say.
Later,
Jake
I'm not really an authority on tarantulas and their venom but I know that alot of the more respected people in the hobby go on location to study tarantulas. While doing this I'm guessing that they utilize the locals to lead them to the tarantula hotspots as it were. If people had died from any of these tarantulas wouldn't it stand to reason that this information might be relayed to the researcher by the locals? The guy that owns the corner store by my house is from India and I've had several conversations with him about some of the local spiders. He says the big ones that live in the trees (which he calls tiger spiders but I think he's referring to Poecilotheria based on his description of their size and how they sit) have been known to kill dogs and cats but never people. He did warn me that their bite causes great pain which is no surprise but I'm sure if I were actually in India then even more feedback would be readily available from the inhabitants of the area that deal with them in their natural environment.
Just something to ponder.
Just something to ponder.
Ryan Bridgman
Arachnopeon
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According to one of the entomologists from the London Natural History Museum the only documented deaths hrom Tarantula bites have been from P. Regalis and quite worryingly, A.Seemanni. A girl died in Indonesia from an unidentified T bite.
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Just wanted to point out...
that all newspapers are not evil and most attempt to get the most accurate information that they can.
I work at a newspaper, and although the story with the local athlete that apparently lost an arm to a t bite wasn't in my paper, I could see how it could happen.
For example, reporter is interviewing the athlete, notices he is now missing an arm.
Reporter: "Wow, when you played for the Bombers, you had an arm, what happened to it?"
Football Player: "When I was in India I was bitten by a tarantula , and it later became infected and had to be removed. India's health care system isn't nearly as good as Canada's. But I still play football for fun with the kids in the back yard".
Now imagine the interview goes on for another 10 minutes. The only thing that will make it in to the paper is that he lost the arm to a T bite. Although not inaccurate, the whole coverage is lacking.
Anyway, I will try and find out when that story ran in our big, bad competitor's newspaper and post it here.
that all newspapers are not evil and most attempt to get the most accurate information that they can.
I work at a newspaper, and although the story with the local athlete that apparently lost an arm to a t bite wasn't in my paper, I could see how it could happen.
For example, reporter is interviewing the athlete, notices he is now missing an arm.
Reporter: "Wow, when you played for the Bombers, you had an arm, what happened to it?"
Football Player: "When I was in India I was bitten by a tarantula , and it later became infected and had to be removed. India's health care system isn't nearly as good as Canada's. But I still play football for fun with the kids in the back yard".
Now imagine the interview goes on for another 10 minutes. The only thing that will make it in to the paper is that he lost the arm to a T bite. Although not inaccurate, the whole coverage is lacking.
Anyway, I will try and find out when that story ran in our big, bad competitor's newspaper and post it here.
I would like to see some references to these bites. I bet if asked about that this the entomologist would respond: uhhmmm i heard about this...
Just hear-saying with no real substance.
oxbaker, the "tiger spider" are Poecilotheria ssp. and people have been bitten by them. Some have severe pain and swelling but no real lifethreatening symptoms such as respitory failure or other dangerous symptoms.
Sheri, a guy here in Sweden was bitten by a male P. regalis - the swelling was quite bad and the doctor wanted to amputate. The guy refused. Luckily, cos the swelling disappeared and he has no injury of the bite afterwards.
I would more blame what happened to that footballer on a bad indian doctor/healthcare then the spider venom.
/Lelle
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St0n3y
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Damn beat me too it... guess you surf OcUK forums a bit more than I do
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Reading through that article and seeing how badly every single sentence is exaggerated makes me want to gag myself with a spoon.
Later,
Jake
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That'll be The Sun's "quality news reporting" then.
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I forwarded that link onto my departmental advisor, I figure we can cite it for adding the bit about termites being flesh eating pirahna like insects to our lectures
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As the "spider expert" said...
Of course, I'm assuming this is a UK tabloid of sorts as the horrible spider death story appears to be running next to such journalistic conquests as "Plastic Monster Alicia" and "Naked Chef Flogs Scooter". So I don't guess it matters much, anyway.
as though spiders weren't animals. The whole article made me sick. Makes us look like a bunch of crazies.
Of course, I'm assuming this is a UK tabloid of sorts as the horrible spider death story appears to be running next to such journalistic conquests as "Plastic Monster Alicia" and "Naked Chef Flogs Scooter". So I don't guess it matters much, anyway.
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Your assumption would be totally correct
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I'm hoping the German version won't be this bad...
Later,
Jake
Later,
Jake
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some people will do anything to cut costs on pet food.
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SICK
But funny as heck=D =D =D I just love those grocery store checkout lane papers