An Acromantula is a huge carnivorous spider capable of human speech. The beast is thought to be wizard-bred for the purpose of guarding treasure hoards. They originated in Borneo but have a colony in the Forbidden Forest. They first appear in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
About[]
Appearance[]
Acromantula eggs
Acromantulas have a tangle of eight black eyes and eight legs spanning up to fifteen feet. They have a hairy body of thick black hair and a pair of razor-sharp poisonous pincers. They click their pincers when they are speaking or feeling excited and angry and have a poisonous secretion. They spin their webs upon the ground.[2]
A young Acromantula is low-slung.[3] A full-size Acromantula is the size of an elephant.[1] A female Acromantula is larger and are capable of laying up to one hundred eggs which are the size of beach balls. These soft and white eggs hatch in six to eight weeks and are Class A Non-Tradeable Goods.[2]
Behaviour[]
An Acromantula is a carnivore which prefers to catch large prey. They have near-human intelligence and are capable of human speech, but they do not care for wizarding laws and are untrainable and highly dangerous.[2] They will devour any human that goes near them.[4] It's unknown if their ability to speak is self-taught because that is very rare.[2]
They appear to be very sociable because they live in large colonies led by a senior Acromantula. They respect their leader and obey any demand given. For example, Rubeus Hagrid was protected by Aragog who persuaded a whole colony not to eat Hagrid even though they instinctively wanted to. Aragog's protection wasn't extended to Hagrid's friends. They usually treat sentient beings like prey.[1]
An elderly Acromantula is at least at the age of fifty.[1] They can live up to at least fifty-four years.[5]
Natural habitat[]
The Acromantula usually lives in the dense jungles of Borneo where they originated. However, a colony was established in the Forbidden Forest. They have cut down every tree in their large, sloping hollow and their leader, Aragog, lives in the center under a web.[1] Due to their very isolated habitat, they do not get discovered by Muggles and do not break the International Statute of Secrecy.[6]
History[]
An Acromantula
Acromantuas originated in Borneo where they inhabit dense uncharted jungles.[7] They are thought to be wizard-bred to guard a home or a treasure hoard. They were taught human speech. Long before the Ban on Experimental Breeding, the first reported sighting of an Acromantula was in 1794.[2]
In 1811, they were given a classification of beast by the Ministry of Magic because of their brutal nature despite being capable of intelligent speech.[4] Because they live in uncharted jungles in Borneo, they are very rarely if ever spotted by a Muggle.[7]
Forbidden Forest colony[]
When he was attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Rubeus Hagrid adopted a young Acromantula called Aragog. After bringing him to school with him, Aragog ended up living the Forbidden Forest after fleeing Hogwarts Castle during the first opening of the Chamber of Secrets.[1] Aragog established a colony which is not public knowledge and its existence is unverified.[8]
During the second opening of the Chamber of Secrets, spiders fled Hogwarts Castle to escape the presence of a Basilisk. They headed towards the colony. Hagrid advised Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley to follow the spiders for answers when he was arrested for the opening despite being innocent. Harry and Ron tracked down the colony where they were picked up by Acromantulas and taken to Aragog in their hollow. After hearing Aragog's story of Hagrid's innocence, he decided to let the Acromantulas try and eat them and Fang because he could only prevent his children from eating Hagrid. They escaped with the help of a feral Ford Anglia.[1]
Known Acromantulas[]
Notes and sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 15
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts (Acromantula)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (What is a Beast?)
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 22
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (Magical Beasts in Hiding)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Introduction (Magical Beasts in Hiding)
- ↑ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: An A-Z of Fantastic Beasts (Acromantula)