BBC Films First Footage African Social Spiders Devouring Mothers

The BBC's new series Parenthood features groundbreaking footage of African social spiders engaging in matriphagy, where over 1,000 spiderlings hunt and cannibalize their mothers and elderly relatives alive. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the footage reveals the mother spiders deliberately trembling to mimic trapped prey, inviting their offspring to consume them as a final sacrifice to ensure the survival of the next generation. This chilling behavior, captured on camera for the first time, has left Attenborough both horrified and delighted, with producer Jeff Wilson calling it one of the best sequences in his 30 years of work. The spiders' synchronized hunting movements resemble a sinister game of musical statues, adding to the eerie atmosphere enhanced by composer Tom Howe's music. The series, filmed over three years across six continents, showcases the extreme and diverse strategies animal parents use to protect their young, sparking discussion about parental sacrifice and generational survival. The spider footage is expected to become a viral sensation comparable to other iconic nature moments like the iguana and snake chase from Planet Earth II.