By Amy Graff
SFGate, San Francisco
FURNACE CREEK, Calif. 鈥� A motorcyclist was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance Saturday after being injured in a collision that officials at California鈥檚 Death Valley National Park said was caused by a tarantula.
The collision occurred when a driver of a rented camper van 鈥渂raked suddenly鈥� to avoid running over a tarantula in the middle of the roadway, and the motorcyclist drove into the back of the van, according to a news release from the park.
The giant hairy spider was crossing state Route 190 east of Towne Pass. The van was occupied by a Swiss couple visiting the United States, park officials said.
The spider was unharmed.
鈥淧lease drive slowly, especially going down steep hills in the park,鈥� Superintendent Mike Reynolds, the first Park Service employee at the scene of the collision, said in a statement. 鈥淥ur roads still have gravel patches due to flood damage, and wildlife of all sizes are out.鈥�
Tarantulas build underground burrows where they spend a lot of their time, but they often emerge in fall during mating season.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e exclusive to October, but it does tend to be when they鈥檙e more active,鈥� said Jeanette Jurado, a national park ranger and incident information officer.
Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated at 4:15 p.m., Oct. 30, to correct a misidentification of the tarantula in a headline.
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