'Oh my goodness, it's a tarantula': 2 live arachnids rescued at Edmonton airport
Two live tarantulas are now being housed at the Royal Alberta Museum after being discovered hidden in a toy plane and a plastic container at the Edmonton International Airport.
The spiders were found by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) on two separate occasions, in packages from Hong Kong.
Longtime border services officer Iris Zelter found both arachnids.
"I don't mind spiders as long as they are where they belong, I thought they were something else when I was unwrapping it," she told CTV News Edmonton on Monday.
CBSA agent Iris Zelter. (CTV News Edmonton)
In May, she found the first tarantula, a male, hidden in a plastic container after noticing some irregularities with the package from Hong Kong.
"I found a box inside a box, and inside of there, I unwrapped a little ziplock bag, very carefully took a little staple out, and then all of a sudden a little brown thing stuck out its little legs, and oh my goodness, it's a tarantula."
"The poor little thing was squished up like this, and I slowly unrolled it, and BING, his little legs stuck out."
Zelter found the second tarantula, a female, in a package from the same shipper, just days later in a toy airplane.
A tarantula was found inside this toy airplane in a package that arrived at the Edmonton international airport. Credit: Canadian Border Service Agency)
"It was a kids toy…I didn’t want to destroy a children's toy, so I undid the screws at the back."
"Inside that was a ziploc bag, and inside that tiny little bag with no room to breathe or move was a tarantula."
In both cases, CBSA called Environment Canada and the spider was taken away to be examined.
The spiders are both a native species to Hong Kong and do not require a permit to be imported into Canada, provided they are transported correctly and humanely.
"CBSA officers were able to find and rescue these two tarantulas from inhumane shipping methods," Lisa Laurencelle-Peace of the CBSA said in a news release.
"The CBSA works closely with its enforcement partners, including ECCC enforcement officers, to keep Canada’s border secure and stop the illegal wildlife trade."
The agency is reminding people travelling with or shipping living creatures that there are strict Canadian regulations for humane transportation, which requires all animals to be kept safe from harm when travelling by land, sea or air.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank dealing with direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
Reported rate of child pornography increased 52% in 2023, total crime up 3%: Statistics Canada
Last year, reported child pornography cases increased by more than 50 per cent in Canada, in part due to more cases being sent to police by specialized internet child exploitation units, according to a Statistics Canada report.
Justin Timberlake's attorney disputes he was intoxicated when arrested for DWI
A hearing in the case of Justin Timberlake being accused of driving while intoxicated was held Friday, where an attorney for the singer disputed his arrest in June.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.
When Barbie learned what a gynecologist was, so did many other people, according to new study
A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film 'Barbie' had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Federal government posts $3.9B deficit in April, May
The result for the April-to-May period compared to a $1.5 billion surplus for the same stretch last year.