Eight legs don’t creep her out

“I believe they will hurt you only if they feel threatened,” said Nazli.

“If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone.”

Nazli has loved spiders since she began crawling.

“She used to crawl to the garden to bring rain spiders into the house,” said her father, Burton Lazarus.

This caused the seven-year-old’s parents to make her the proud “parent” of her first tarantula at the tender age of three.

“I named him 8 By 8,” Nazli said.

“He is a salmon pink tarantula (Lasiodora Parahybana) and was two months old when I got him.”

8 By 8 is currently 20cm in size and Nazli’s father bought him for R400.

The Farrarmere resident and pupil of Benoni Muslim School currently owns 35 different species of tarantulas.

“I love them,” she said.

“They make me feel calm when I am upset, because I remember the good times I have with them.”

These good times include memories of Nazli exhibiting her tarantulas to fellow pupils at her school.

She has not only been passionate about spiders since she was a toddler, but of nature’s creatures as a whole.

“I also help to take care of my brother, Joey’s, snakes,” she said.

Joey, who is 21 years old, owns 12 snakes, which include Burmese and ball pythons, and dumerils and a red tail boa.

“Snakes are very different to spiders,” Nazli said.

“I like snakes, but not as much as I love my tarantulas.”

With the help of her father, Nazli sells her bred spiders with the ultimate goal of buying a Theraphosa species called the Blondi.

“These are known as Goliath Bird Eaters,” Nazli said.

Not only does this little girl have a huge amount courage, she also has big dreams.

“Nazli wants to be the first female President when she grows up,” said her proud mother, Shaista Ismail.

“She is an impressive and interesting child.”