[paul m]

I've never been to Austalia but the sea doesn't sound too hospitable!

Planet Ark : FEATURE - An Aussie Summer: Fierce Creatures, Scorching Sun

[Guy F]

A very interesting article, I've never been there either, and I think if I ever do go there I will be a little bit nervous about swimming in the sea!
They forgot to mention Cone-Shells, which can apparently kill with the poisonous barb (right word?) that they shoot out. And Stingrays, Moray Eels and Lion Fish are all pretty dangerous!
Guy

[Tanny]

Fair Dinkum, that's one heck of an article, enough to scare every nervous person away from the country and want to give it back to the aboriginals who have lived there for over six thousand years.

The author certainly went through a list of baddies to be found in Australia and even missed out many more. What about the Duck-billed Platypus with a poisonous sting on it's back leg, the Blue-ringed Octopus, Bulldog Ants, Scorpions, Giant Centipedes, Red-backed Spider, the Cassowary Bird and even the Kangaroo who can rip your guts out with its hind legs.

There are plenty more I can mention but after thirty seven years in Australia, bringing up children and making a study of survival in that country, I can honestly say you've got to be very unlucky to have any of those creatures, harm or kill you. I used to work on an Island off the North West Coast of Western Australia and in my spare time would study the marine Turtle. I would swim out to the coral reefs and see them, sleeping and feeding, this I did on my own without anyone watching over me. I met with many creatures on the reefs, like the deadly Stone Fish. Cone Shells, Blue-ringed Octopus, Tiger Shark, Bronze Whalers and Sea Snakes, even swam over a School of large Sting Rays, like the one that killed the late Steve Irwin. Many a time my heart thumped, and the adrenalin flowed but I never once felt the fear of danger from the creatures,! "well apart from the Tiger Shark", that blighter made me scramble out up the gagged cliffs. The Sea Snakes would come up for air beside me and dive down again to hunt for fish in the coral reef.

On my weeks off I would head out into the outback on my own, learning survival and living off the land. I handled Snakes and Scorpions although I drew the line on eating them, much preferring to eat the Whitchetty grubs and Honeypot ants and road kill Kangaroos. The only critter to get me was the Red-backed Spider whose bite caused an agonizing pain for seven days, and the nearest I came to be really damaged was when a big Kangaroo bounded right beside me whilst I lay in my swag on the ground at night.

Now I am back in England for the rest of my life and I am so afraid of crossing the roads.

[paul m]

Great Tanny - good to put it all in perspective. I don't suppose Australia is any worse than anywhere else in the tropics - or even in the cooler temperate zones if you try hard enough - just that people are less likely to be swimming casually up here!
I'd forgotten about the platypus - looks such a harmless animal ...
Cheers, Paul

Originally Posted by Tanny

Fair Dinkum, that's one heck of an article, enough to scare every nervous person away from the country and want to give it back to the aboriginals who have lived there for over six thousand years.

The author certainly went through a list of baddies to be found in Australia and even missed out many more. What about the Duck-billed Platypus with a poisonous sting on it's back leg, the Blue-ringed Octopus, Bulldog Ants, Scorpions, Giant Centipedes, Red-backed Spider, the Cassowary Bird and even the Kangaroo who can rip your guts out with its hind legs.

There are plenty more I can mention but after thirty seven years in Australia, bringing up children and making a study of survival in that country, I can honestly say you've got to be very unlucky to have any of those creatures, harm or kill you. I used to work on an Island off the North West Coast of Western Australia and in my spare time would study the marine Turtle. I would swim out to the coral reefs and see them, sleeping and feeding, this I did on my own without anyone watching over me. I met with many creatures on the reefs, like the deadly Stone Fish. Cone Shells, Blue-ringed Octopus, Tiger Shark, Bronze Whalers and Sea Snakes, even swam over a School of large Sting Rays, like the one that killed the late Steve Irwin. Many a time my heart thumped, and the adrenalin flowed but I never once felt the fear of danger from the creatures,! "well apart from the Tiger Shark", that blighter made me scramble out up the gagged cliffs. The Sea Snakes would come up for air beside me and dive down again to hunt for fish in the coral reef.

On my weeks off I would head out into the outback on my own, learning survival and living off the land. I handled Snakes and Scorpions although I drew the line on eating them, much preferring to eat the Whitchetty grubs and Honeypot ants and road kill Kangaroos. The only critter to get me was the Red-backed Spider whose bite caused an agonizing pain for seven days, and the nearest I came to be really damaged was when a big Kangaroo bounded right beside me whilst I lay in my swag on the ground at night.

Now I am back in England for the rest of my life and I am so afraid of crossing the roads.

[Muggsy]

great post Tanny, which island ?

I've managed to survive 6 trips to WA, snorkeled around the islands of the Dampier Archipelago. Its a wonderful place. The only time I ever fear for my life is when I stay with my brother in Perth.


My sister in law is proper frightening

[ozwildlife]

Australia does have an impressive variety of dangerous creatures, but don't let that put you off coming here to have a look.

- average number of people killed by crocodiles each year = 1 (about a dozen in 20 years)
- average number of people killed by sharks each year = 1 (192 in 200 years)
- average number of people killed by snakes each year = less than 2
- number of road deaths in Australia = 1611 (2007 total)

According to stats quoted from world health organisation in this Wikipedia article on Snakebite, there are the 100,000 deaths each year from snake bite in Asia. This makes Australia's 1 or 2 fatalities a year look small. I didn't realise the global death toll from snakes was so high.

[goosey]

Originally Posted by ozwildlife

Australia does have an impressive variety of dangerous creatures, but don't let that put you off coming here to have a look.

- average number of people killed by crocodiles each year = 1 (about a dozen in 20 years)
- average number of people killed by sharks each year = 1 (192 in 200 years)
- average number of people killed by snakes each year = less than 2
- number of road deaths in Australia = 1611 (2007 total)

According to stats quoted from world health organisation in this Wikipedia article on Snakebite, there are the 100,000 deaths each year from snake bite in Asia. This makes Australia's 1 or 2 fatalities a year look small. I didn't realise the global death toll from snakes was so high.

Those figures do seem a lot lower than I would have imagined - refreshing really just incase I do ever leave Europe and head your way . But I think it would be your spiders that would put me off .
I digress a bit with this link - but it's sort of relevant to the post .Python stalked family pet before swallowing it whole | World news | guardian.co.uk

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by goosey

I digress a bit with this link - but it's sort of relevant to the post .Python stalked family pet before swallowing it whole | World news | guardian.co.uk

Apparantly the same python had also eaten the family's guinea pig and tried to eat their cat, but couldn't digest it.
I knew snakes are very territorial and will eat pets if there isn't another option, but why one would want tot stay in a garden where there is human activity and apparantly none of their usual foods is beyond me...

~*~Frostfire~*~

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by ozwildlife

Australia does have an impressive variety of dangerous creatures, but don't let that put you off coming here to have a look.

I suppose Australia is just like anywhere else, it has it's dangers, but the chance is probably reasonably small you'll come across anything and on the off chance of coming across something or other, as long as you leave it alone and treat it's habitat correctly, you shouldn't have to much to be scared of, but of course the odd accident does happen.
You probably just have to be a little bit more alert of the dangers in Australia than in most places. But I take it that, if you grow up there, you are taught how to keep safe. So it's probably the tourists that are the most vulnerbal and cause the most accidents...

[goosey]

This woman had a lucky escape!

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Man wrestles croc to rescue wife

It got me thinking ould I have been so intuitive, brave or foolhardy if I had witnessed an attack like this!

Its not just in tropical places with wild animals attacks happen. I think what is more worrying is the all to frequent attacks on people by supposedly "domesticated pet" dogs, whose owners have no idea on how to control their "status symbol or fashion accessory" which results in horrific injuries or death.

[Emmanuel70]

I agree with Tanny and Frostfire:

There are plenty more I can mention but after thirty seven years in Australia, bringing up children and making a study of survival in that country, I can honestly say you've got to be very unlucky to have any of those creatures, harm or kill you.

I suppose Australia is just like anywhere else, it has it's dangers, but the chance is probably reasonably small you'll come across anything and on the off chance of coming across something or other, as long as you leave it alone and treat it's habitat correctly, you shouldn't have to much to be scared of, but of course the odd accident does happen.

Here's one who's either incredibly brave or just feeling lucky:
"Great White Shark Stroked by Scientist"