Is this a tarantula?

[Kfamr]

Neat!

[CathyBogart]

Nifty! Looks like a tarantula from the genus Aphonopelma. You are absolutely right about the bite Cindy. If he felt like it he COULD bite, but it wouldn't be dangerous. They're really pretty docile though. Looks like a small male, but there's no way to know for sure until they're big.

I'm very glad to hear he was put outside.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Yep looks like a tarantula to me. I've never seen one in the wild although they don't scare me at all. Bees, wasps and cockroaches scare me to death but I have actually had a tarantula crawl up my hand/arm and it was the coolest feeling ever. I love them and I find them lovely and fascinating. I'd love to have seen that in person. I keep wanting to find a tarantula in the wild. There are none in Michigan so since I've moved to TX I'm always on the lookout.

Glad you didn't kill it. They have a tremendouly long life span and it would be a shame to end it needlessly.

[Taz_Zoee]

Yes, luckily there wasn't even mention of killing the little guy (I've since named Harry). My fellow animal lover was out at a meeting when this happened and she was very glad we set it free too.

Catherinedana, I am in the East Bay area of California (Livermore to be exact), although I live in Concord, CA.

caseysmom, I didn't know we had these here either! But my supervisor has children that live in Fresno and she said around October each year you can see hoards of them going through the cotton fields between Fresno and surrounding areas.

I was so excited to be able to see this today. It made my Friday!!