A photographer found a terrifying surprise when he discovered he was sharing a bed with a family of hundreds of venomous spiders.
Upon noticing some tiny spiders in his bedroom, he looked under his bed - only to find the mother.
Gil Wizen was staying at a reserve in Napo province of eastern Ecuador, when he followed a trail of baby spiders to find a massive Brazilian wandering spider and its offspring.
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As big as a human hand, the spider had taken refuge under Mr Wizen's bed where the mother was seemingly guarding her children, the Daily Star reported.
Mr Wizen managed to take a photograph to document the face to face encounter under the bed, capturing an image of the venomous creature which has now won him a prestigious award.
The spider room, the name given to the image, saw Mr Wizen awarded the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award for Urban Wildlife.
According to notes on the award website, Mr Wizen used forced perspective to make it "appear even larger". After capturing the moment, a daring Mr Wizen safely relocated the spider outside.
Speaking on his blog about the stunning photograph, in a post from 2014, he said: "Not only were there literally thousands of spiderlings under the bed, right beside them rested one of the biggest 'non tarantula' spiders I have ever seen. Its body length was 45mm but with its leg span it could easily cover my hand."
Brazilian wandering spiders are more known to roam forest floors at night, instead this one opted to share Mr Wizen's bedroom.
Their toxic venom can be deadly to humans but can also provide medicinal uses.
The overall winner for this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year went to French biologist and underwater photographer Laurent Ballesta.
She managed to capture a camouflage grouper fish swimming around in a cloud of eggs and sperm.
Other winning photos included fighting fish, an inquisitive underwater elephant, a calm gorilla and a beautiful reflection in a coral reef.
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