surfing tarantula

This tarantula was sunning itself on a rock in the middle of a swift, muddy little stream. I already knew tarantulas aren’t afraid of water, but this one took it to a whole new level.

When it was ready to leave the rock, it walked all the way around and dipped its feet in the water. Then it walked right in on the upstream side of the rock. Instead of washing away, it held on to the surface of the rock and made its way along… several inches under the water. I don’t have any pictures of that, but swear it happened.

After quite a while (maybe a minute) under water, it climbed out and dried in the sun. Then it stepped off the rock on the downstream side and floated several feet to a little sandbar. It walked the length of the sand and hopped right back into the water. It repeated the process several times until it took off into open water.

It shot through a small rapid, popped up on the other side, and disappeared around a bend in the stream.