Animals

Dad screams as toddler picks up huge tarantula and plays with it


Blake seemed unafraid of the large spider (Picture: SWNS)

An American dad nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw his young daughter playing with a tarantula.

David Lehman, 36, appeared to be more afraid of the large spider than 18-month-old Blake.

A video of the encounter showed the toddler sitting on a patio innocently playing with an upturned coffee tin.

Her father asked what she’s doing to which the tot gleefully replied ‘Bug! Bug!’

When she lifted the can to reveal it was in fact a hairy arachnid, David let out a high-pitched shriek.

He yelled ‘put that down, put that down!’, before he scooped her up and carried her away.

David was forced to apologise for his panicked reaction after Blake started crying. It also piqued the interest of an excitable boy in a yellow T-shirt who exclaimed ‘I want to see it!’

The 18-month-old girl put the ‘bug’ in a coffee tin (Picture: SWNS)
David described the tarantula his daughter found as ‘gnarly’ (Picture: Getty Images/EyeEm)

It happened in the family’s backyard in Tucson, Arizona, as they spent a summer afternoon relaxing by the poolside.

Car dealer manager David said: ‘I was expecting a beetle, as it’s that season right now, so when I saw the tarantula I just thought “get that gnarly thing away from my daughter!”

‘I tried to hit the can out of her hand but I didn’t take into consideration her toddler death grip – when I hit the can away, she went with it!

He picked Blake up and carried her away from the tarantula (Picture: SWNS)

‘She landed on a padded grass area, the tarantula landed on her shoulder so I just grabbed her up into my arms.

‘Once we calmed down, we eventually caught the spider and checked it out then set it free in the front yard.

‘Blake isn’t fazed and still loves exploring outside!’


MORE : Woman horrified to find massive live spider in Boohoo parcel


MORE : Tarantula the size of a plate found running around London garden

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