Posted on 02/18/2023 8:09:21 AM PST by Saije
Fans of the 1990 horror comedy “Arachnophobia” may find their promised land in the rural Great Plains town of La Junta, Colorado.
That’s because La Junta is ground zero for the annual mating ritual of tens of thousands aphonopelma, or Oklahoma brown tarantula. For a few months each year, this tiny community in southeast Colorado is prime viewing for fans of the brown-and-black arachnids, especially from August to October when the males emerge, looking for love.
Rather than be repulsed when overrun by the large, hairy spiders, La Junta decided last year to embrace the annual ritual as a tourism opportunity.
“We have over 400,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land on the Comanche National Grasslands, which is wide open space where you can go and see the tarantulas,” said Pam Denahy, director of tourism for La Junta, which last year launched its first “Tarantula Fest” to celebrate the awe-inspiring – and at times horror-evoking – arachnids.
Although the phenomenon has been happening for years, it wasn’t until 2018 that the local tourism board saw an opportunity to boost visitation based on the annual mating practices of the local tarantulas.
“A lot of people call it migration, but it’s technically their mating season,” Denahy told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s the males looking to mate with the females.”
(Excerpt) Read more at cowboystatedaily.com ...
visit La Junta
https://visitlajunta.net/tarantula-trek/
Never knew this about La Junta. I rescued a kitty there a decade ago.
Invite Klaus Schwab and his minions over for a tarantula BBQ
“ “It’s the males looking to mate with the females.” “
That’s awfully transphobic. Non-binary and questioning tarantulas have been systemically disrespected.
Males always seem to get the shorter end of the stick in the animal kingdom. They even sometimes end up dying during the mating process. The females just take and take and take and once impregnated, the males are unwanted and cast aside.
Then progressives invented the welfare state.
“It’s the males looking to mate with the females.”
Is he a biologist?
L
Ohhh, you must be referring to the “trannytulas”!
We used to have a lot of them growing up in rural Denton, Texas in the 70’s. I guess the fire ants ran them off. Same with the horny toads.
back in the day at undergrad school at vatech, the student apartments were filled with german cockroaches (no doubt still are) because of poor kitchen sanitation standards of the student occupants ... there were various solutions (not counting ACTUALLY keeping the kitchens cleaned), but my favorite was the folks who had a large pet lizard of some type that made a warm, cozy nest under their refrigerator ... no roaches in THAT apartment!
Why is this article coming out now? This usually happens around late summer early fall.
To give you time to make travel arrangements?
Giving everyone time to plan and prepare e for tarantula feasts
“Oh, they’re not venomous.” Well, actually they are but don’t seem to be able to hurt us with it. Just smaller creatures. He also didn’t mention the irritating little hairs on its back that it can release.
Well at least they don't have to pay maintenance and child support.
I saw 3 very large ones crossing a dirt road I was on near there. Big enuff to hijack the car.
Well, certainly in many of the spider species’ case. Not so much with the non-arachnid/non-insect species. For instance, when a male lion/coalition takes over a territory, the cubs, sub-adults and even some of the unwilling female lions are killed.
Elephant and giraffe bulls just walk away, having nothing to do with their offspring. Many of the bird species are better with parenting (especially raptors), but a female African Hornbill is at the mercy of her mate after she plucks out all of her feathers, and he cements her into the hole of a tree for her time of gestation and post-hatching. If something happens to the male, she and the chicks will starve to death in their nest. What a way to go.
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