When we mention the word ‘pet’, your first thought is most likely a four-legged, fluffy friend – a dog or a cat, maybe a pony at a stretch. Some people prefer the more unconventional eight-legged variety however, like these tarantulas.
Although tarantula owners may be few and far between, they have been brought together in a global fang-off competition, known as the Fatal Fang Tournament. Entrants have to submit home videos of their ‘furry’ friends feeding, with the best spidey videos selected to compete in a global YouTube showdown.
64 ‘spider-loving Youtubers’ from around the world have their spider videos competing against each other, and viewers can vote online for their favourite arachnid feeding video.
Four South African tarantula owners have made the cut and their videos will go head-to-head in this curious showdown. One of the spiders is Emilia, a Mexican Red Leg Tarantula, who was rescued from her previous owner. ‘She was kept in a tiny enclosure with no hide or water dish. She was given only mealworms as a staple diet and I just needed to get her out of there,’ said her new owner, Liaan Lategan.
The other South African tarantula owners competing in Fatal Fangs are Martin Browning, Victor Norman and Ludwig Eksteen.
Contestants are randomly selected and pooled together, and the winners of each group will then compete against each other. Think the FIFA World Cup, but with spiders. Voting began on 2 December and viewers will have the chance to vote for their favourite video every week from Monday to Friday.
Each competitor that makes it to the next round will need to record a new video of their pet. The spiders are in no way harmed and the aim of the tournament is celebrate tarantulas and debunk the idea that spiders are so fearsome. Fatal Fangs is an interesting watch for those who want to learn more about these giant creepy crawlies. To watch the first round of the tournament, see the video below.
Image: Pixabay
