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Hikers Spot A Strange Ball Of 'Fur' - Realize It's Not Fur At All
"We thought it was a sleeping animal of some kind."
Ashley Fike
01.14.19

For those of you that are faint of heart – you may want to pass on reading this article and watching the video. It might make your stomach churn.

Rada SC is a photographer and explorer that often posts photos of gorgeous nature scenes that he’s discovered while hiking. However, on this particular day, he was out hiking with his father when they stumbled across something that caught their attention.

While hiking in the hill near Alamos, Mexico, the photographer and his dad saw what appeared to be a furry black creature napping in the nook of a rock.

Rada SC/Twitter
Source:
Rada SC/Twitter

“We thought it was a sleeping animal of some kind,” Rada SC told The Dodo. “I told my father that we should gently touch the ‘ball of hair’ to see if we could identify what it was.”

So – unfortunately for them and every single one of the 1.7 million viewers of the video below, this ball of fur was not, in fact, some cuddly furry creature. Rada SC decides to give the ‘creature’ a poke with a stick he found nearby and that’s when things turn into a scene from a horror movie or a nightmare.

Once they poked the ‘ball of fur’, it turns out it wasn’t just one animal – it was thousands of them. Spiders.

Rada SC/Twitter
Source:
Rada SC/Twitter

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” Rada SC said. “It turns out that the ‘hairs’ were in reality the numerous legs of the spiders, and they were so close together it looked like a ball of hair.”

So, what type of spider can huddle up with thousands of its friends and family members to form a giant black ball of what looks like fur? The photographer and nature lover suspects that it’s a type of harvestmen spider. They are completely harmless and known to congregate in huge groups, like the one in the video below, to help protect themselves from the sun.

Luckily for Rada SC and his dad, the thousands of spiders that they’d just awoken weren’t dangerous and seemed unphased by the momentary disruption.

Rada SC/Twitter
Source:
Rada SC/Twitter

“I tried my best not to injure any of them,” Rada SC said. “After a while, they immediately crawled back up and formed another ball.”

If you’re like most people – spiders might not be your favorite critter on the planet. Witnessing a scene like the one in the video below is something that could send you into a total panic attack – especially because the ‘fur’ had such potential to be something cute! However, Rada SC wants and hopes people will watch the video and change their tune about spiders and other insects.

“When I shared the video I couldn’t believe how many people misunderstand arachnids and bugs. They want to kill or squash them instead of taking the time to learn their behavior,” he said. “I hope they eventually see it in amazement.”

Wikipedia
Source:
Wikipedia

As it turns out, this wasn’t the only giant ball of spiders he and his dad stumbled across that day.

When he encountered yet another mass of spiders, Rada SC used his fingers to gently nudged a chunk of them off. They quickly scurry around, probably confused as to what just woke them up from their nap, then amass together once more like it was no big deal.

“After I walked, I found more similar congregations, bigger ones, I left them in peace. I really did not know what they were before touching them,” Rada SC commented on Twitter.

Rada SC/Twitter
Source:
Rada SC/Twitter

Watch Rada SC’s encounter with these fascinating spiders in the video below.

Regardless of how interesting this video is to watch – I think I’ll pass on nudging any mysterious balls of fur while out hiking in the Mexican desert.

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