When most people suddenly spot a spider, their reaction is usually just to squish it out of instinct or even fear. Jacob Vaughn from Ohio spotted one of the scary 8-legged animals while he was washing a piece of broccoli he just bought from the store. He didn’t even think about squishing it.
Instead, he realized that this spider was quite special and needed rescue.
The spider residing on the broccoli was actually a black widow with red markings, which are venomous. Black widows generally tend to stay in their caves and it’s quite rare for one to just pop up – especially on a broccoli!
“The spider came out and started waving its hands,” the man said to WTOL. “[She] did not seem pleased.”
Instead of releasing the spider outside, the man decided to do more than that. Since the venomous spider bites can definitely hurt if the arachnid feels threatened, Jacob grabbed a pair of tongs to carefully place the spider in a bag.
After his small rescue operation succeeded, the man got in touch with Another Chance Sanctuary, which has experience saving animals that most people don’t even care about.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for the animals other people might not really care to save,” Cheryl Garcia from the animal organization said to The Dodo. “Most people might say, ‘It’s just a spider. Squish it and move on.’ But she’s so much more than that.”
One of Cheryl’s friends and a fellow volunteer showed up at Jacob’s house to safely transport the spider to the animal sanctuary. Luckily, the man didn’t release her outside, because black widows aren’t a native species in Ohio.
“She looked so frantic,” Cheryl recalls. “How she managed to survive all the steps that broccoli had to go through before getting to the store is a surprise in itself.”
The spider was then aptly nicknamed ‘Brocolli’, and she’s been taken care of ever since.
Her medical condition was quite severe, as it seemed she hadn’t eaten in a while, having a very thin and deflated abdomen.
“She was extremely hungry,” the animal rescuer said. “They’re supposed to have that classic big abdomen with the hourglass marking, but she was so skinny you could barely see it.”
The volunteers over at the sanctuary prepared a wonderful terrarium for Broccoli to recover and reside in, including plenty of food and some moist substrate. It didn’t take long before the little spider was full of energy again.
“As soon as she realized she wasn’t in danger, she was doing great,” Cheryl told. “She’d already started building a web, and as soon as we offered her some fruit flies, she ate them immediately.”
The spider species is known to be quite shy – but the rescuers already knew that Broccoli had an adventurous side. After all, she made a long trip from her cave to a piece of broccoli.
To make this rescue story even more special, a woman who heard about Broccoli on social media was interested in adopting the black widow and giving her a permanent and safe home.
“She’s very experienced with arachnids and sadly lost her pet black widow recently,” Cheryl said. “She has a great setup, and is well aware of Broccoli’s needs so she can live happy and healthy.”
While Cheryl definitely agrees that not everyone can be a fan of spiders, she hopes that more people can learn to appreciate these animals and help them more often instead of squishing them without thinking about it.
“Spiders are not for everyone — but a lot of people have told me, ‘Wow, I guess she isn’t the vicious killer I thought she was!’” she said. “I’m so thrilled she’s found a home with a qualified owner who will really appreciate her. It’s what she deserves.”
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