{"id":9593,"date":"2016-12-03T07:06:46","date_gmt":"2016-12-03T12:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/p4td.lightshedder.com\/?p=9593"},"modified":"2016-12-03T07:34:36","modified_gmt":"2016-12-03T12:34:36","slug":"tarantula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psnp.info\/p4td_\/?p=9593","title":{"rendered":"Tarantula!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tarantula. Slot Canyon. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Cochiti New Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n

We did not see much wildlife at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument near Cochiti New Mexico when we visited last month…a Townsend’s Solitaire, a Jackrabbit, and, as we walked up Slot Canyon, this lovely Tarantula. Now I know there is a slight risk in positing this image, as some of my followers surely will react negatively, but the Tarantula is, as I see it, a lovely bug. As spiders go, it is furry and friendly looking. It is, of course, also very large. This one was maybe 5 inches leg-tip to leg-tip. One of the (many) things I love about my wife Carol is that it did not send her clawing her way up the side of the canyon. We both watched it scuttled along the Canyon floor working its way around us on its way down. Tarantulas live solitary lives, mostly out of sight, but they do come out in search of mates in season. This one may have been on that errand. And though they are big, they rarely bite (they have to be really provoked to bite a human) and the bite is more irritating than harmful. People (not people I know personally, but people nonetheless) keep them as pets. I was happy to see this one, free and on about its Tarantula business, in Slot Canyon. <\/p>\n

Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. 1\/1000th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet. <\/p>\n

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