They are hairy and the size of a baseball, and if you live in the Southwest, you may seem them roaming around.

It is mating season for the tarantula, and the males are on the lookout for a female friend. That includes southern Utah, where you may see them out and about.

But even though it is a tarantula, they are relatively harmless, with venom less potent than a common wasp.

“It’s a wild animal — it doesn’t want to be picked up and loved and hugged,” said Dan McCamish, a senior environmental scientist with California State Parks. “In general, the species is very docile, but if you were to handle one, they could bite you.”

According to an in article in USA Today , these seemingly scary eight-legged arachnids are a valuable part of the the ecological system.

“In truth, they’re gentle

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