A Swiss tourist’s encounter with a tarantula led to an unexpected chain reaction in Death Valley National Park.
Two Swiss tourists were navigating park’s rugged terrain in a campervan when the driver spotted a tarantula and abruptly slammed on the brakes, according to ABC7. This abrupt halt caused a motorcyclist trailing the van to collide with the rear of the vehicle.
The motorcyclist was subsequently transported to a nearby hospital, while the tarantula, the source of the initial commotion, “walked away unscathed,” according to the park’s statement.
Though Death Valley is home to various wildlife, tarantulas are not commonly encountered. These arachnids typically reside underground, emerging only to mate during the fall season. The park’s authorities emphasized that tarantulas are slow-moving and nonaggressive, with their bites being compared to a bee sting and posing no lethal threat to humans.