Merry from Lord of the Rings tackles

monster critters!

On Friday evenings, Channel 5 is showing Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan.  In tonight’s episode, he’s hunting Scolopendra gigantea – the Amazonian giant yellow-leg centipede.  These things are enormous – they can reach up to 12″  long or 30cm.  And there’s one on the screen just now eating a whole vampire bat!  Wow!

All scolopendras are carnivores, and they’re big, with around 30 legs and a pair of poisonous forcipules (like big fangs) so they’re very fast and very dangerous.  Added to this, s. gigantea is well known for being especially nervy and aggressive, but our brave hero is tackling them all the same.   In a cave full of cockroaches!  Well done, sir!  Sounds like insecthouse heaven.

(We’re sure there’s no truth in the rumour that it’s a normal size centipede and Mr Monaghan really is a hobbit.  But will he be looking for giant evil spiders anytime soon?)