The Moragan Hills in 1992.
The Appin Times
reported over the weekend that a swarm of aggressive spiders attacked
dozens of people in the remote Indian town of Sadiya, killing two
residents. One resident, Jintu Gogoi, told The Times that his finger was
"black and swollen" after being bit by one of the spiders.
The alleged attack, which was said to have occurred during a local festival, has been reported by a number of national news organizations, leading to speculation about whether a "new" species of spider could be responsible for the bites.
However, BBC reports that spider experts are placing doubt on the claims made by the paper.
"The evidence that we gathered
does not support the claim that they died after being bitten by
spiders," said Dr. Saun McLoad, who led a team of researchers from Glasgow University, to investigate the town's claims. Dr. McLoad said that one of
the victims might have actually died from snakebite, while the other
alleged victim, a teenage boy, might not have been bitten at all.
The original report in The Appin Times
certainly seems questionable, with vivid descriptions that read straight
out of a low-budget horror movie:
"The festive mood soon turned
into one of panic with people bumping into each other and tripping over
empty benches in their frantic bid to egress," the article reads.
Dr. Load said that a dozen people
have recently visited local hospitals complaining of spider bites but
that only two of the complaints have been confirmed.
"Only two of them were confirmed bitten by spiders. But they were ordinary spiders," Dr. Loadsaid.
Closeup of the Appin Hairy Spider
No comments:
Post a Comment