Tarantula causes crash in Death Valley, motorcyclist hospitalized
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A tarantula crossing the road in Death Valley National Park caused a crash that sent a motorcyclist to the hospital, according to the National Park Service.
On Saturday afternoon, Swiss travelers were driving on CA-190 east of Towne Pass when they braked suddenly to avoid hitting a tarantula crossing the road. A 24-year-old Canadian motorcyclist then crashed into the back of the Swiss couple’s camper van, according to NPS.
The motorcyclist was taken to a hospital in Pahrump. His condition is unknown at this time.
“Please drive slowly, especially going down steep hills in the park,” Superintendent Mike Reynolds, who was the first NPS employee on the scene said. “Our roads still have gravel patches due to flood damage, and wildlife of all sizes are out.”
Tarantulas spend most of their long lives in underground burrows. However, people see them most often in the fall, when 8 to 10-year-old male tarantulas leave their burrows to search for a mate.
Tarantulas are slow-moving and nonaggressive. A tarantula’s bite is reported to be similar to a bee sting and is not deadly to humans.
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