Horror as Woman Unpacks Suitcase From Africa, Discovers Living 'Souvenir'

When Danielle Halvorson returned home from her vacation in Uganda, she opened her bag to find what she called an "unexpected souvenir"—a huge spider. "I returned from Uganda on June 23," Halvorson told Newsweek. "The bag was last packed at a lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. I took my bag with me during our group tour's drive down to Kigali, where it was scanned at the land border crossing from Uganda into Rwanda. It then stayed in my hotel room in Kigali for several hours before I departed for the airport." It wasn't until two days later that she discovered the uninvited guest while unpacking her rolling duffel bag back in California. "I was unpacking the main compartment and removing a dress when I saw something moving," she recounted. "I squealed, 'BIG SPIDER!' to my husband Dane and crawled onto the kitchen counter. Dane went to check it out with a tiny napkin, but I kept insisting, 'No, it's a BIG SPIDER!' and 'BIGGER!' until he saw how big she was. We then corralled her using a plate and glass." The spider died shortly after being discovered. Halvorson speculated that the spider's demise could be due to the prolonged exposure to treated clothing items in her bag. "She would have been in there about 40 hours since I last zipped up the bag. That included being in the bottom of a luggage pile in our truck and being left in a hot car parked in Kigali. I also had several clothing items treated with permethrin (an insecticide) for chimpanzee and gorilla trekking, which likely contributed to her death."

After the spider died, Dane wrapped her in a napkin and flushed her down the toilet—a decision Halvorson now regrets. "In retrospect, I wish we had just frozen her to get a proper ID. We normally release spiders outside alive, but because of the potential threat of a new species, we didn't want to risk introducing her to the L.A. ecosystem." Halvorson posted pictures of the spider on Reddit's r/spider subreddit, hoping to get an identification. "I'm not an expert on spiders. I originally posted the pictures to get an ID, but the post has gotten much more attention than I expected," she said. Charles Haddad, associate professor of Zoology and Entomology at the University of the Free State, commented on the difficulty of identifying the spider from photos. "From its body posture, it looks like a huntsman spider, but it's challenging to be certain without seeing the eyes and dorsal habitus," he told Newsweek. Despite being unable to confirm an identification, Haddad warned that it is important never to release an unknown species into the wild. The release of nonnative spiders in the United States can pose several risks, including ecological disruption, agricultural impact, and human health concerns. Halvorson reported the incident to the California Department of Food and Agriculture and plans to make additional reports to U.S. Customs and Turkish Airlines. However, without the spider's body, there is little that can be done. Above all, Halvorson emphasized that the incident shouldn't deter people from visiting Uganda. "It makes me sad to see people joking about crossing Uganda off their travel list because of a spider. I had a wonderful time on my trip and never saw anything like her while there. The country offers incredible experiences, from chimpanzee and gorilla trekking in national parks to visiting local communities," she said.