Gigantic tarantula on Tarantula Hill (Photo Credit: Ivana Getoudaheer)

Yesterday, several readers reported sighting of an approximately 100 foot tall tarantula on Dawn's Peak (more popularly referred to as Tarantula Hill) off of West Gainsborough Road in Thousand Oaks, between Grand Oak Lane and Camino Manzanas. Standing at 1,057 feet at its peak, Tarantula Hill is perhaps the most well known mountain in the Conejo Valley.

Conejo Valley spider expert Arik Nafobia indicated that typically, tarantulas have leg spans of 3 to 12 inches. "I'm not sure what caused this tarantula to grow so large, but don't worry, there are no recorded instances of tarantulas preying on humans."

"It could be a coincidence," added Thousand Oaks Police spokesman Hugh Jarthrowpod, "but the entire beef supply of Bandits Grill was stolen on Monday night."

The massive tarantula was last seen attempting to navigate Highway 101 west of the 23, where traffic slowed to a crawl; which seemed fine to him (or her).