'A battle royale of the mini-beasts!' Wildlife expert captures desperate fight for survival between a lizard and giant huntsman spider
- A wildlife expert has filmed the epic moment a huntsman spider took on a lizard
- Tim Faulkner was looking for a rough-scaled python in WA's Kimberley region
- He heard rustling in nearby bush and what he found was against his expectation
- Huntsman gripped onto lizard as reptile fought hard to break free from clutches
A wildlife expert has captured an epic fight to the death between a lizard and a huntsman spider.
Tim Faulkner was searching for nocturnal animals, known as spotlighting, with fellow experts at the Kimberley region in Western Australia early this week.
He was looking for a rough-scaled python when he heard a rustle in nearby bush.
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A wildlife expert has captured a fight to the death between a lizard and a huntsman spider
Tim Faulkner caught the gripping battle on camera, watching on in awe as the pair wrestled
Mr Faulkner soon realised what was unfolding, and turned on his camera to record the gripping battle.
'It was certainly something most people wouldn’t have seen before,' Mr Faulkner told Yahoo 7.
In the footage, the huntsman clearly has the upper hand and pins the lizard against the rock.
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But the reptile shows it isn't going to go quietly and violently tries to wriggle free.
In the ensuing struggle, the lizard makes the fatal mistake of going over the edge of the rock.
The spider latches onto its prey and bundles itself into a ball as the pair crash into the leaves resting at the bottom.
The lizard is clearly on its last breath and makes one last ditch effort to struggle free.
But despite its best efforts, the reptile is no match for the iron grip of the spider.
Now the spider latches onto its prey with all its legs and bundles itself into a ball as the pair crash into the leaves at the bottom of the rock
Mr Faulkner said the struggle lasted a good ten minutes before the reptile surrendered and gave in to the venomous bite of the spider.
He identified the lizard as a carlia and said he couldn't pinpoint the species of the spider, but concluded it probably was a huntsman.
'At one point I thought the lizard was going to get away but it turned out it wasn’t a happy ending for it,' he said.
'It truly was a battle royale of the mini-beasts!'
Mr Faulkner said the struggle lasted a good ten minutes before the reptile surrendered and gave in to the venomous bite of the spider
