Iowa State takes in 170 baby tarantulas

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Baby tarantulas have invaded Iowa State University.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service donated 169 of them this month to the Ames school after confiscating them from the Port of Los Angeles.

Tarantulas are one of may animals trafficked in the illegal pet trading industry. When they arrived on campus, they were so small they fit in tiny plastic vials.

The school said ten of the tarantulas went to its 17-acre property, called Reiman Gardens. The rest will be raised in the school’s Insect Zoo until they get bigger.

Ginny Mitchell, Insect Zoo education program coordinator, told KCCI-TV that that about half ultimately would be offered to other institutions.