Venomous Tarantulas Invade Town, Newly Discovered Spiders Baffle Researchers
Scientists have been left perplexed after hordes of large spiders descended on the town of Maningrida.
Australia is not the best place for arachnophobes at the best of times but for those living in Maningrida this week the problem posed by big spiders has reached a record-breaking high.
In a scene reminiscent of a horror movie, thousands of tarantulas belonging to a newly discovered species have descended on the town prompting significant concerns among the local populace.
The spiders, which have been nicknamed 'diving spiders' due to their ability to go underwater inside a bubble of air, typically create tunnel-like webs in which they lie in wait to ambush their prey.
While not fatal, a single bite from one of the spiders can make someone seriously ill.
Arachnologists such as Dr. Robert Raven have been investigating the invasion in an attempt to work out why so many of the creatures had congregated within such a small area.
One possibility is that there is a particularly attractive food source for the spiders in the town. It is also possible that a natural predator of the spiders is missing from the area.
"It's one of the beauties of science, being able to say ‘I don't know,'" said Dr. Raven. -
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UFO and Lost Time
This happened in 1963 in Sawyer, Michigan. I was a teenager and fishing on a little lake dug out for fill for I-94. It was roughly 9:30 PM when two little boys ( brothers of a friend ) yelled out and asked if I would take them for a ride in my boat. I rowed in and picked them up.
We rowed around the lake and it was just about dark when I saw two people standing at the edge of the water on the I-94 side of the lake. I rowed over to them thinking they were two other friends who always fished the lake. I rowed up to them, maybe 15 feet away and started calling their names, no reply. It was dark and I couldn't make them out except in silhouette. I was about to row closer when the kids in the back started screaming and crying. I turned to them and they pointed to my left and I saw this object floating maybe 2 feet off the water maybe 100 feet away.
The object was oval with a flattened bottom and maybe 10-20 feet wide. It's color was an opalescent white that did not reflect on the water. It didn't make a sound or disturb the surface of the water and seemed to slowing be coming toward us.
When I realized something was very wrong I turned the boat around and headed for the opposite shore where we kept the boat. We were all scared to death and ran for the kids house as soon as we hit shore. I did not bother to look at the object again, I was scared and rowing my heart out.
When we came into their house their mother and father started yelling at the three of us asking " Where the Hell were you ". I replied I took the boys for a boat ride and tried to explain what happened. They father cut me off saying "Bullshit" they had combed the area by the lake and walked around it calling for the boys for the last hour and found nothing. I told that couldn't be as it just turned dark 20 minutes ago and we didn't see you or hear you. He pointed at the clock and it was 11:15 PM, I thought it was maybe 10.
There is more to this but it's hard to explain here. This has bothered me since that day and simply had to get it off my chest. Rick
Source: MUFON CMS
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Fifth Shark Attack off NC Coast Friday
A man on a North Carolina beach says he witnessed a shark attack a 47-year-old man near the Avon Fishing Pier in the Outer Banks. The Florida Program for Shark Research confirmed the unprovoked attack, and says this is the fifth shark attack off of North Carolina shores this year.
No details were immediately available on the condition of the man who was attacked, although authorities say the man was bitten multiple times.
WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia reports the man was being transported to a hospital there.
Johnny Supon (@jsupan98) says he caught video of the attack. He says the shark's fin can be seen sticking up out of the water, while the man who was bitten is laying on the beach.
Red flags were raised at Avon alerting beachgoers of a shark attack.
A shark attack expert says bigger sharks could be patrolling closer to North Carolina shores because of the influx of sea turtles during the 2015 nesting season.
The Star-News reports George Burgess, director of the Florida program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, says sharks are attracted to sea turtles as food and more sea turtles could mean more and larger sharks closer to shore.
Burgess says sharks like bull sharks and tiger sharks could be attracted closer to the surf as food sources, like sea turtles, move on and off the shore for nesting between April and September. - Fifth Shark Attack off NC Coast Friday
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Runaway Saw Blade Rolls Down Highway, Slices Truck, Narrowly Misses Driver
A man in China narrowly survived a bizarre incident last week in which a giant circular saw blade fell off the back of a truck on the Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway, then cut a deep gash into his vehicle, narrowly missing him.
The man, identified by The Telegraph only as "Mr. Xiang," said he heard a crash when a truck in the opposite lane lost control, dislodging its cargo of several poorly secured circular saw blades that were 5 feet in diameter. One of those blades rolled onto the highway past a bush on the median, picking up speed as it barreled toward Xiang's truck.
"I just heard a 'bang' and then I saw all the white smoke in front of me," Xiang recalled to The Shanghaiist after the June 17 incident. "I almost lost control of my car."
The runaway blade diced about 20 inches through the hood of Xiang's truck and lodged itself in the engine, perilously close to the driver's seat. Police told the South China Morning Post the other driver didn't realize the saw blade had been dislodged and caused an accident.
Thankfully, Xiang was unhurt in the accident, albeit quite shaken. - Runaway Saw Blade Rolls Down Highway, Slices Truck, Narrowly Misses Driver
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