They think all the jokes about the terrifying wildlife are exaggerated. In fact, they’re oh so true.
Here’s me, unaware of the danger I was in.
He came to Sydney from England about 2 years ago.
Ah Sydney. Home of the Funnel Web Spider.
Here’s one looking for a hug
The male funnel web spider has enough venom to kill a human (and there are several recorded deaths) although since the anti venom has been introduced there have been no fatalities in the last few decades.
We’ve also got Huntsman Spiders
“You know why they call me a Huntsman? Because I…hunt…men”.
Now these aren’t deadly or even dangerous at all. Just showing you one I found in MY HOUSE! Do you want to come home to that? No, you don’t.
Up the coast a bit we’ve got Queensland, home to a few more friendly critters such as:
Saltwater Crocodile
Reaching over 6m in length, you want to check before jumping into any creeks or even swimming at the beach sometimes.
A more common danger, however, are these fellas:
Box Jellyfish
These are found in the Summer months in Queensland’s tropical waters especially (but also further down south), and have the potential to kill swimmers.
What about Snakes? Why yes.
We’ve got several of the world’s most venomous snakes here in Aus, including:
Inland Taipan
Eastern Brown Snake
Tiger Snake
These are all perfectly capable of giving you a nasty (ie. fatal) nip. I haven’t seen one yet in Aus, but I know they’re just lurking around the corner.
So you escaped the jellyfish and crocs, but now you’re scared of the land? Thinking of escaping to the water again? Not so fast…
Things That’ll Kill You - Underwater Friends Part 2
Blue Ringed Octopus
Aww, what a cutie. Just don’t try and touch it, since they have enough venom to kill 26 adults (that’s 26 more than I’m comfortable with).
Stonefish
“Ouch, did I just step on a stone.”
No - you stepped on a Stonefish. Dead.
Cone Snail
“Aww pretty shell”. Dead.
Oh well, at least there aren’t any Sha…never mind.
Why did I leave England again?
Just kidding - while it’s kind of a running joke how terrifying Australian wildlife is, in actual fact hardly anyone is killed by any of these animals. They’d much rather run away or hide than confront humans generally.
The only one of these I’ve seen is a croc, and it was about 3 feet long! If you’re smart and respect the wildlife you shouldn’t be in trouble.
Plus, if you’re too scared of the animals you’ll miss out on some amazing views…
This is me on the Great Barrier Reef - where are all the Sharks??
Still no sharks, hmmm.
Happy I didn’t get eaten by sharks.
So to sum up - Australia is great and you should visit!
(You’re welcome, Tourism Australia.)
Thanks for Reading
Picture Source Wikipedia
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