Send in the spiders: Australian zoo asks for deadly donations

If you aren't a fan of our eight-legged friends, then this story is not one for you.

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the water spout, down came the rain and... Incy was captured and sent to be part of a life-saving research program!

An Australian zoo is urging the public to catch and donate some of the world's deadliest spiders.

Sydney funnel-web spiders might be deadly, but they can also help save human lives.

Read on to find out how.

When donated the spider's fangs will be milked of venom

The Australian Reptile Park in Sydney needs funnel-web spiders for its "lifesaving" project.

The park run an anti-venom program - where they use the spiders' venom to create an antidote.

But for the program to carry on successfully they need a lot of spiders.

And to get these, they rely on donations from the public.

What is a funnel web spider?

Funnel-web spiders can help produce medicine to save lives of those who've been bitten by poisonous insects

• There are at least 40 species of funnel-web spiders.

• Not all species are dangerous, but some are aggressive and have highly toxic venom.

• The male of Atrax robustus, the Sydney Funnel-web Spider, is one of the most dangerous and is probably responsible for most medically serious bites.

How do the spiders save lives?

When spiders are captured and donated, their fangs are "milked" of venom which is used to create an antidote to save the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to get bitten.

But taking venom from a spider is hard work and it often has to be done many times to extract enough for one dose.

It's worth it though, as since Australian Reptile Park began its funnel-web spider anti-venom program in 1981, zero deaths have been recorded due to bites from the spider.

And whilst the park is asking the public to keep an eye out for the creepy critters, spider keeper Emma Teni reminded Aussies to be extremely cautious when collecting them!