Have you ever wondered what people that have pet tarantulas actually do for fun with those hairy spiders? Well, it seems that one thing they like to do is compete with them in tournaments against other tarantula owners. A global tournament is taking place on YouTube between the most extreme arachnid fans and their pet tarantulas. This global fang-off is definitely one of the strangest knock-out tournaments you will ever come across.
The Fatal Fang tournament kicked off on Sunday, December 2nd. The tournament features tarantula-loving YouTubers posting the best clips of their hairy spider friend eating food, which I’m guessing involves live insects fleeing away from their pet as it runs them down. People are asked to vote for their favorite tarantula feeding videos in this head-to-head competition. Similar to the way the FIFA world cup works, the contestants were drawn randomly to compete in pools against each other. The contestants battle it out until there is only one ultimate champion left. People can submit their votes for their favourite videos each week from Sunday through Friday. The contestants are allowed to post pre-recorded videos, with each new round requiring a new video.
British-based bug blogger Sam Carver was inspired to create the tournament. He hopes that an international feeding clip tournament will help promote the hobby of having a pet spider, as well as show people that spiders aren’t all scary. It seems like the spiders certainly don’t mind the extra attention they are receiving, including the tasty tweezer-fed crickets that come with it. Nature conservationist and wildlife tour guide Liaan Lategan and his pet Mexican Red Leg Tarantula (Brachypelma emilia), Emilia is one of the lucky contestants to make the final cut. He claims, “The most challenging thing about filming spiders when I feed them is to get just the right amount of lighting on them so it wouldn’t disturb them and anticipating the attach and position of where it will happen.” Who knew pet tarantulas could be this entertaining?
Have you ever watched a video of a spider eating on YouTube? Do you think watching this tournament could make you feel a little less scared of spiders?