An influencer ended up with prickly hairs stuck in her mouth after eating a tarantula taco.
Shocking footage shared last week shows Ana Karen sampling a range of exotic foods at a market.
Karen, 24, tucked into grasshoppers, a cockroach, and even a scorpion taco for her 1.5m Instagram followers.
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Ahead of the main event, she also tried “some chocolate-flavoured insects to prep my palate”.
“They brought out the live tarantula,” she recalled.
“I was terrified, just like everyone watching me. Honestly, I had no clue what I was doing. I hesitated a few times.”
The influencer – from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico – said the arachnid was cooked and its hairs removed before she ate it.
“I had a little mezcal before trying the tarantula because I was so scared,” she said.
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“I tried the leg first – couldn’t do it. But then I thought, ‘Okay, Karen, just do it.’ And here we go.
“I bit it, guys. I actually bit into a hairy tarantula. And you won’t believe it, but it tasted like pork scratchings.”
Karen, who also has 6.7m TikTok followers, paid 1,000 MXN (£42) for the daring dish at Mexico City’s San Juan Market.
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But the story didn’t end with the shock factor – her decision came with some uncomfortable consequences.
In a later video, Karen revealed the prickly hairs still stuck in her cheek, as reported by What’s The Jam.
“My cheek did feel a little numb for a bit, but other than that, all good. I went home, brushed my teeth, and I was fine – like nothing happened.”
Her followers were left baffled.
“Why the heck would you eat a tarantula?” asked Ivan.
“Girl, you don’t like apples?” joked Majo.
And Alexis added: “You’re gonna cause another pandemic, seriously!”
Reflecting on the experience, Karen admitted: “Why did I even get the idea to eat a tarantula taco? I have no idea, and maybe we’ll never know. My head is weird.
“I genuinely struggled to convince myself to do it, but in the end, I thought, ‘Alright, Karen, you’re here, just go for it,’ and I did.”
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