Is Every Creature in Australia About to Kill You

[cookie47 2,036]

Just now, Salty Dog said:

I thought I should split this from my "I Be Gone" thread, so members could keep going with the flow of this topic.

Gee ,,,,,,I thought everything in Australia was about to kill you, I think I will Have to reassess that observation.

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[+Salty Dog 69,193]

4 hours ago, cookie47 said:

Gee ,,,,,,I thought everything in Australia was about to kill you, I think I will Have to reassess that observation.

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Top 10 Most Dangerous Creatures in Florida

1. Spiders 
2. Florida Black Bears
3. Sharks
4. American Alligators
5. Snakes
6. Wild Boars
7. Florida Panthers
8. Fire Ants
9. Jellyfish
10. Fish

We only have 9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders. Not necessarily the top 9 though... 

Out of the 50 species of snakes found in Florida, there are only six that are venomous and a danger to humans:

1. Southern Copperheads
2. Cottonmouths (a.k.a. water moccasins)
3. Eastern Coral Snakes
4. Eastern Diamondbacks
5. Timber Rattlesnakes
6. Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnakes

While not poisonous, we do have a problem with giant constrictor snakes in Florida. Pythons, Boa Constrictors, and Anacondas. 

 

 

 

 

[+to_dave007 5,914]

14 hours ago, cookie47 said:

,I thought everything in Australia was about to kill you

Brings on images of being chased from the water by a bunch of rabid platypus.. then ripped to pieces by herds of wallaby and koala..  before flocks of cockatoo swoop in to clean up the pieces.  You call that danger?  Lets see you walk up to a hungry adult Canadian polar bear and say "tag..  you're it"

[+to_dave007 5,914]

8 hours ago, Salty Dog said:

While not poisonous, we do have a problem with giant constrictor snakes in Florida. Pythons, Boa Constrictors, and Anacondas. 

Didn't most of these originate from release of pet snakes over the years?  They aren't native to Florida are they?

The size of those constrictor snakes you showed suggest that these snakes would make good material for another of those red neck reality shows hunting them.

[mikecon3 336]

36 minutes ago, to_dave007 said:

The size of those constrictor snakes you showed suggest that these snakes would make good material for another of those red neck reality shows hunting them.

Ask and you shall receive, they actually have one on Discovery Channel called Guardians of the Glades! Pretty interesting show, it takes a special kind of stupid to stick your hand in a hole you think has a python or boa in it!

[cookie47 2,036]

Brings on images of being chased from the water by a bunch of rabid platypus.. then ripped to pieces by herds of wallaby and koala..  before flocks of cockatoo swoop in to clean up the pieces.  You call that danger?  Lets see you walk up to a hungry adult Canadian polar bear and say "tag..  you're it"

Haa haaaa,,Yes I think ours are more stealthy just waiting quietly and patient to get ya,,, turn up in ya bed,,, like 170 species of snake with 100 being venomous, and Sydney's funnel web spider.....AND,,Not forgetting the redback spider(cousin of the black widow) that likes living under the toilet seat.

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[BossHog 38,564]

2 minutes ago, cookie47 said:

Not forgetting the redback spider(cousin of the black widow) that likes living under the toilet seat.

Did anyone else just pucker up when they read that?

[+Dafey 15,272]

I stopped squatting to pee when I read this.

[Ozepete 9,590]

48 minutes ago, cookie47 said:

Haa haaaa,,Yes I think ours are more stealthy just waiting quietly and patient to get ya,,, turn up in ya bed,,, like 170 species of snake with 100 being venomous, and Sydney's funnel web spider.....AND,,Not forgetting the redback spider(cousin of the black widow) that likes living under the toilet seat.

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You would remember too Cookie, out in the donga all the creepy critters seem to come in plagues. Well when living in the desert we were having a plague of scorpions and about this time a city kid who knew every fecking thing about everything, came to stay, but he knew nothing about scorpions.. gotcha!  One of my sons, known for his size 14 boots, told this young Einstein that he had to get new boots because the bloody scorpions ate his other pair last night.  That kid stayed up all night nursing a pick handle! 

[cookie47 2,036]

A photo of me in 1976 having caught a FRESHWATER crocodile ( unintenionally) on a lure whilst fishing for Barramundie in NT..

Although not considered dangerous as they mainly fish eaters,, compared with the saltwater species ,just zoom in and see those teeth.NOT to be messed with

[+Salty Dog 69,193]

6 hours ago, Dafey said:

I stopped squatting to pee when I read this.

Are you making fun of us fat old men... 

[+Salty Dog 69,193]

We have our own versions of deadly creatures.

While this one is microscopic, the ‘Brain-Eating’ Amoeba has a mortality rate of nearly 100%.

Quote

Composed of a single cell, amoeba seem harmless enough: They look like playful critters waltzing under the spotlight of a microscope until they come upon a group of bacteria. Then, these previously innocuous amoeba suddenly morph into sinister blobs, engulfing the bacteria and slowly ripping them apart with a bevy of digestive enzymes. It’s hard to cry over murdered bacteria, but the digestive power of amoeba is the stuff of nightmares when it plays out in a human brain.

Infections with Naegleria fowleri, the so-called brain-eating amoeba, are extremely rare, but also extremely deadly. Only 147 cases have been reported in the U.S. since 1962, with only four surviving the infection; so there is a 97% chance of death...

...N. fowleri dwells in warm bodies of fresh water where it dines on bacteria in the sediment. As such, most infections with this amoeba in the U.S. have occurred in southern states, especially Texas and Florida, during the summer. When the sediment of a lake is disrupted, amoeba get stirred into the water. Swimmers can then inhale the parasite through their nose. From there, N. fowleri invades the olfactory nerves and migrates to the brain, where it causes a dangerous condition called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis.

The brain is moist and warm, just like the lakes and hot springs where the amoeba thrives. But the brain doesn’t have bacteria for the amoeba to eat, so the organism attacks brain cells for nutrients.

The immune system does not sit idly by, however, while the parasite eats its way through the brain. It unleashes a massive swarm of immune cells to the infected zone, which causes inflammation and brain swelling. Unfortunately for the person whose brain is infected, this battle is being waged inside a sturdy skull, which cannot expand to accommodate a swelling brain. The increase in cranial pressure disrupts the brain’s connection to the spinal cord, compromising communication with other parts of the body like the respiratory system.

A stealthy and quick assassin

Symptoms can appear as early as two days, or as late as two weeks, following inhalation of N. fowleri. The first symptoms include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, and a change in the sense of smell or taste (due to damaged olfactory nerves mentioned above). The infection rapidly progresses through the central nervous system, producing stiff neck, confusion, fatigue, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations. Patients usually succumb to the infection within five to seven days after the onset of symptoms.

There are several reasons why N. fowleri is so deadly. First, the presence of the parasite leads to rapid and irrevocable destruction of critical brain tissue. Second, the initial symptoms can easily be mistaken for a less serious illness, costing valuable treatment time. Third, there is no quick diagnostic test for N. fowleri, and patients are often mistreated for viral or bacterial meningitis.

Finally, there are no established medications with proven efficacy against the amoeba, although miltefosine is showing promise. Compounding the problem is the fact that most drugs have trouble penetrating the brain and, as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis is a rare disease, very little research is being conducted.

https://theconversation.com/why-the-brain-eating-amoeba-found-in-freshwater-lakes-while-rare-is-so-deadly-121171

 

[+Salty Dog 69,193]

So Aussies just tell the rest of the world this to keep us from moving there and mucking things up...

 

[cookie47 2,036]

Very true,the ratio factor needs to be taken into consideration of how many issues per percentage of population.

Although snakes and spiders are seen in suburbia (including the Sydney funnel web spider) the vast majority of Australians would have NEVER seen one apart from in a Zoo.

Same as shark's and surfer's ,And as the presenter alluded to , More deaths are caused by motorist's trying to swerve to evade a crossing kangaroo or cow  and subsequently rolling their vehicle.

Edited June 5, 2020 by cookie47
Addition

[+Salty Dog 69,193]

Oi mates, let's hear from you Aussies about your personal encounters with deadly creatures down under...