Footage goes viral after egg sac reveals horrifying surprise

Justin Chan
Updated ·1 min read

A video clip shared by the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, New South Wales, has Facebook users replying in horror.

The footage, which is just over a minute long, shows dozens of tiny Australian funnel-web spider hatchlings crawling out of an egg sac as it is ripped open by tweezers.

The clip, which has been shared by multiple outlets, received strong reactions on Facebook.

"My phone vibrated when watching the video and I threw it!" one person wrote on WRTV's Facebook page, which shared the footage last Friday. "It was just a text."

Others were less terrified.

"So awesome," another wrote. "I love spiders."

The Australian funnel-web spider is considered one of the world's deadliest arachnids. Its venom can kill a human within 15 minutes, Dr. Robert Raven, curator of arachnids at Queensland Museum, told Australian Geographic in 2017.

"People know within minutes that they’re going to die or are in deep, deep trouble – death has occurred with funnel webs in 15 minutes," he said. "The most dangerous place to get bitten is the torso because no tourniquet can be put on it."

Fortunately, lifesaving antivenom does exist — the Australian Reptile Park runs Australia's only venom milking program that is dedicated to neutralizing the spider's toxin.

"The program is really about public service and saving people's lives," Ranger Mick, who works at the park, said. "Honest to God, if it stops, we're back to 1975 — instantly."