18 month old baby Blake was more scared of her father’s screaming than she was the tarantula she had trapped underneath a tin.
36 year old David Lehman from Tucson, Arizona was enjoying some time outside with his family when he noticed his young daughter Blake playing with a coffee tin on the ground. He asked her what she was playing with, and she responded simply: “Bug.” Blake then lifted the coffee tin to proudly show her father what she had caught. It was no itsy bitsy spider – it was a tarantula.
Lehman said of that moment: “I was expecting a beetle, as it’s that season right now, so when I saw the tarantula I just thought: get that gnarly thing away from my daughter!”
Thrown into a panic, Lehman attempted to protect Blake from the spider by knocking the coffee tin out of her hand. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize her “toddler death grip” would be so powerful, so when he smacked the tin, she was still holding tight. As a result, he accidentally knocked over Blake as well.
Thankfully, Blake had a safe landing, since the family has artificial grass padding the area where she was playing. But she wasn’t completely out of danger just yet: the tarantula had landed on her shoulder.
Lehman then swooped in to grab his daughter, saving her from the tarantula. He held her tight as they fled from the spider. Their dog chased after them, concerned about the commotion and Blake’s tears. Now that his daughter was safe, Lehman was able to comfort her and tell a nearby young boy in a yellow shirt what had happened.
Don’t worry, baby Blake wasn’t traumatized by the incident. Lehman said that after their encounter with the tarantula, they “eventually caught the spider and checked it out then set it free in the front yard. Blake isn’t fazed and still loves exploring outside!” Her dad, however, might be seeing scuttling spiders out of the corner of his eye for a while.
Interested in watching more harrowing videos about encounters between man and animal? Check out this link for an article about a reptile keeper almost becoming her gator’s meal.
