Thousands of giant fish-eating spiders ‘once on brink of extinction’ found in UK – as map reveals where colonies lurk
Share:
THOUSANDS of giant fish-eating spiders the size of your hand have come back from the "brink of extinction". A map has revealed where colonies of the fen raft spider are lurking after the critters had their "biggest mating season on record". Fen raft spiders can run across the surface of water to catch their prey and they're able to detect the slightest movements below the surface thanks to tiny hairs on their legs.
![[Thousands of giant fish-eating spiders the size of your hand have come back from the 'brink of extinction']](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/raft-spider-dolomedes-fimbriatus-web-958283843.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Their webs can stretch up to a whopping 25cm, making them the size of a pizza. The creepy crawlers were introduced to four sites in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, in eastern England. It came as part of Chester Zoo's mission to see the species' population rise, after they had been in terminal decline.
Arachnophobes may be terrified to learn zoologists released thousands of the eight-legged creatures - which can "grow to be the size of your hand" and "you can't miss them". And subsequent research has shown the semi-aquatic spiders are thriving in Norfolk.
![[Fen raft spiders can run across the surface of water to catch their prey]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/perching-leaf-pond-hunting-food-958287143.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The RSPB said there are now potentially 3,750 females at Mid Yare Nature Reserve, on the Norfolk Broads. The Mid-Yare Marshes are a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Norwich in Norfolk, England. The resurgence of the creature has been named one of the RSPB's "major nature wins" of 2024.
RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight said: “This year has secured major nature wins – from the historic sandeel fishing closure to saving species like Saiga antelope from extinction – the RSPB has demonstrated what can be achieved through vital conservation efforts.”.
