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Spider Mother Devoured by Children

Season 44 Episode 10 | 3m 17s

After weeks of protecting her brood, a spider mother makes the ultimate sacrifice, offering her own body as food.

Major support for NATURE is provided by The Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, The Fairweather Foundation, Charles Rosenblum, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Sarah and Sandra Lyu in memory of Seung and Dorothy Lyu, The Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Dr. George Stanley and Sandra Caruso, Colin S. Edwards, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, Seton J. Melvin, Sandra Atlas Bass, George D. Smith Fund, Inc., Dr. Coralyn W. Whitney Program Fund for Science and Nature, Bradley L. Goldberg Family Foundation, The Hite Foundation, Arlene and Milton D. Berkman, Paul H. Klingenstein and Kathleen R. Bole, Perpetual Kindness Foundation and Sun Hill Renewal Fund, and by Viewers Like You.
Extras
Parenthood is the ultimate journey, full of danger.
A boxer crab mother relies on living anemones for defense.
Go behind the scenes of our miniseries "Parenthood."
An unlikely partnership in East Lombok turns shark hunting into a ecotourism venture.
See how jungle animal parents raise children by mastering their environment.
Sharing a tree hole, two unlikely allies protect their families in very different ways.
A langur mother climbs dangerous cliffs to protect her baby from rival males.
This isn’t a prison. It’s a carefully built nursery, sealed for protection.
Ocean parents must master dedication and intelligence to raise their young.
This fish dad doesn’t eat for a month to protect his young.