A poisonous tarantula found in a West Lothian wheelie bin was one of the Scottish SPCA's "most unusual rescues of 2019".
The eight-legged creature was discovered sitting on top of a black bag inside a bin outside a house in Blackburn – giving one unsuspecting member of the public quite the shock.
The Scottish SPCA were contacted immediately and senior animal rescue officer Sarah Auldsmith attended, and safely collected the tarantula.
The animal welfare charity named the incident, which happened in June, one of their most unusual rescues of last year, adding: "From experience, when tarantulas shed their exoskeleton, they can appear deceased as they don't move. We heard from the owner and this is exactly what happened! Please be aware that your arachnid friend might not be dead, just shedding!"
Among the other 'unusual' rescues was the recovery of a fox which had fallen into the Water of Leith last summer.
The animal was staying afloat on the debris, and had become exhausted trying to get out of the water.
Fire and rescue teams, along with coastguards, reached the fox using a boat and took him off to their National Wildlife Rescue Centre for some rest and recovery. He was then released back into the wild three days later.
Among the other unusual incidents was the rescue of a seal pup in a Greenock car park, a rare owl found in Airdrie and a stowaway snake found in Bridge of Allan.
You can view the full list on the Scottish SPCA website.
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