Legend Of J'Ba Fofi and Giant Spiders

        

                     

J’Ba Fofi translates to “giant spider” in the Baka people’s language in the Congolese forests. The Congo basin is 500 million acres and the world’s second largest tropical rainforest, and it is home to a vast variety of wildlife, including endangered primates, elephants, and 10,000 species of tropical plants. The Baka represent the area’s population, and since the late nineteenth century, they and foreign travelers have been reporting a man-eating giant spider. Described to have a leg span of 4-6 feet in adulthood, the J’Ba Fofi, or sometimes called the Giant Congolese Spider, is said to operate like a trapdoor species. Sometimes, witnesses report funnel trapdoors located in or below tree roots, and sometimes it creates webs spanning from tree to tree, and lays a trip line web to alert itself of any prey. It’s massive and sturdy webs catch anything that crosses its path, and then the creature emerges: a dark brown spider resembling a tarantula, with potent venom to kill its prey. Its eggs are reportedly pale yellow and measure 1-2 inches, and newly hatched Giant Congolese Spiders are described to be bright yellow with a purple abdomen. This terrifying cryptid has developed quite a reputation in the Congo; the natives, fearful of the local legends and stories, now stay clear of any suspicious looking web nests. 

The oldest documented sighting is from 1890. An English missionary named Arthur John Simes was on route to a village while traveling in the dense Ugandan forests when some of his men got stuck in a massive web. As he started to cut them loose, he discovered the webs were unusually strong, like nothing he’d experienced before. Suddenly, two large spiders appeared from the underbrush and bit his men. Arthur was able to shoot one with his pistol, but was also bit. Although he and his men ultimately escaped, they died shortly after from the swollen bites. 

In 1938, R.K. Loyd and Margurite Loyd were driving in the Belgian-Congo when they noticed something on the ground. William Gibbons, a British cryptozoologist wrote:


“I first became aware of a giant ground-dwelling spider through Miss Margaret Lloyd, formerly of Rhodesia and now living in England. Her parents, Reginald and Margurite Lloyd were exploring the interior of the old Belgian Congo in 1938 when they spotted something crossing the jungle track ahead of them. At first they took the object to be a large jungle cat or a monkey on all fours. When they stopped their vehicle (an old Ford truck) to allow the animal to pass, they were thunderstruck to see that it was a very large brown spider, similar in its appearance to a tarantula, with a leg span of at least four or five feet. Mr. Lloyd trembled so much with excitement that he was unable to retrieve his camera in time to take a snap, and Mrs. Lloyd was so distraught that she wanted to return home (Rhodesia) immediately.”

Many giant spider sightings also take place in other corners of the world. Karl Shuker, a zoologist and cryptozoologist, did an interview with a man named Craig, who’s grandfather had seen a giant spider. While serving his time in World War 2, Craig’s grandfather claimed to have killed a massive emerald-green hairless spider while serving in New Guinea. On their 18th episode of season 2, History Channel’s Monster Quest sent investigators to examine reports of giant spiders in Peru and Iraq. The United States apparently has giant spiders too; Todd Partian documented a story his father (Richard Paritan) told him; in 1948 Richard was walking with his two other siblings, his grandmother, and his grandfather to church in Louisiana. On their way, William Slaydon, the grandfather, motioned everyone to stop. From a ditch on the side of the highway they were on, a huge hairy spider “the size of a washtub” walked across the road and disappeared on the other side. The most recent US sighting I came across was reported by Cryptido.com, a cryptid news sight, where Jamie Williams explored the woods behind her house in Alabama with a camera, planning to show her friends the documentation. Before sending the footage, she reviewed it and noticed something strange. An enormous pale spider appears to be suspended in the lush, perhaps supported by unseen webs. Another recent video shot in October 2017, seems to show a massive dark spider crawling toward British tourists in the Dominican Republic. On the island, there are in fact very large tarantula species such as the Hispaniolan giant tarantula, but the video certainly shows an abnormally larger creature. This footage on Youtube was captured in 2014 in Maputaland, Mozambique by campers. At around 40 seconds, you can see a large figure move in between two trees on the right side. It is very hard to identify as anything --much less a giant spider-- but according to the channel who posted the video, the campers had already heard native stories of giant burrows and webs around the area.

So.. Is it possible that giant spiders exist? In the case of Papua New Guinea and nearby islands, many scientists have considered sightings to be mistaken identity. In particular, the coconut crab, which can grow up to 3 feet, is the largest arthropod and has six spider-like legs with two large pincers, bearing a similar appearance to what would be a giant spider. It is very possible that a frightened witness may mistaken it as a spider. 

The Goliath bird eater is the largest
spider species today

In the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods, some insects were able  to reach huge sizes. Dragonflies during this time were able to reach 28 inch wingspans. They were able to achieve this because the oxygen levels in the atmosphere were over 30%, much more compared to the 21% of today. Insects’ tracheal breathing system limits its oxygen intake, and because there is no inflated amount of oxygen present, we see far smaller insects in today’s world. Most spider species nowadays have either the tracheal breathing system, a book lung (evolved from book gills), or both, neither of which supports a huge human sized spider in present day. The current Guinness World Record holder for the world’s largest spider is the Goliath Bird Eater, with its legs reaching up to 1 foot in length. The question that still remains: is there a significantly larger species of spider?

The legend of J’Ba Fofi and giant spiders must look science in the eye. Spiders simply cannot reach such sizes with their limited oxygen intake system and the low oxygen levels compared to what it was 300 million years ago. Therefore, giant spiders are not real, and for now, they will remain just a myth.