Seneca Park Zoo is home to one Mombasa golden starburst tarantula, which can be found inside the Animals of the Savanna building.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status: Not yet evaluated.

These tarantulas are found in Angola, sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Zanzibar. They are ground-dwellers found in a variety of habitats, including bushes, low trees and burrows under rocks.

As carnivores, these tarantulas feed on invertebrates and small animals such as lizards, rodents and birds.

This species is commonly referred to as the orange baboon tarantula, because of its color and confrontational nature.

Although their venom is not lethal to humans, the starburst tarantula has an extremely painful bite – known to be even more painful than a rattlesnake bite.

These tarantulas are typically bright orange in color, but are sometimes found in dark and red color variations depending on their geographical location.