Spider Hurls Snake Into Its Web In Battle To The Death


An Australian man managed to film a battle to the death between a venomous spider and a snake, as the poisonous arachnid hurled the reptile into its carefully-constructed web.

Farmer Neale Postlethwaite filmed the conflict between the spider and snake underneath his wife’s car at their home in Gooroc, north of Melbourne, according to the Daily Mail. When he began to record the interaction, the snake was already caught in the spider’s web, though before the camera was on, Postlethwaite claims that he saw a feat of great strength from the small insect.

“It’s just mindboggling,” he recalled. “I can’t believe it was actually able to stop it and then hurl it up backwards into its nest.”

Postlethwaite witnessed the tiny insect lifting the much larger snake off the ground, tossing its prey into the web. Both the redback spider and the eastern brown snake are well armed for such a battle, possessing venom that can be extremely dangerous. A redback spider bite can cause vomiting and convulsions in humans while a single strike from the eastern brown snake can be fatal, or lead to neurotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and blood coagulation.

When Postlethwaite discovered the animals, the snake was very much alive, leading to a near-miss for the farmer.

“I thought the snake was dead and went to put my finger there and the snake was still alive at the time,” he said.

When Postlethwaite returned to the scene of the battle 24-hours-later, he discovered the young snake had died, likely a victim of the spider’s venom. As the Mirror points out, the snake’s corpse had remained under the car and was being devoured by ants.

Though dangerous, redback spiders are frequently seen on Postlethwaite’s property, according to the farmer. They often seek out man-made shelter in order to build their nests.

Earlier this year, a beach in New South Wales was cleared after an eastern brown snake swam ashore. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the snake measured nearly five-feet-long, and prompted beachgoers to flee in fear. Though it is highly unusual to see the species in salt water, some researchers asserted the animal, considered one of the world’s most dangerous snakes, could have adapted to its surroundings.

After witnessing the battle between the spider and snake, Postlethwaite’s wife has refused to drive her car until the underbody is cleaned.

[Image: Neale Postlethwaite via the Daily Record]

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