Another Reason Not to Visit Australia

[Carnal_Flower]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/huntsman-spider-trnd/index.html

I know we have some nice folks from Oz on this forum, but this is just wrong.

https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/f/9/0/b/w/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1f90br.png/1478194446015.jpg

 

[legerdemer]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/huntsman-spider-trnd/index.html

I know we have some nice folks from Oz on this forum, but this is just wrong.

https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/f/9/0/b/w/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1f90br.png/1478194446015.jpg

Just think of the birds or wasps that call that baby lunch! Bring back the dinosaurs - snacks are ready.

 

[ChloeTzang]

It's a Huntsman and not lethal to humans

Yes, but I was down there in March visiting my cousins and being a tourist and they have about 20 of the worlds most poisonous snakes and insects. Scary

 

[ElectricBlue]

CF, I knew it, I just knew that you would find that pic and freak out big time. It's only a little spider.

What you also need to go find are the cute pictures of koalas with their babies, and go awwwww, they're so cute. Google "koala escaping the flood"

Oh yeah, it's spring here. The snakes are starting to roam, it's been a longer, cooler winter than usual, so they're hungry.... come on down, it's fine!

 

[The_Ghost_Man]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/health/huntsman-spider-trnd/index.html

I know we have some nice folks from Oz on this forum, but this is just wrong.

https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/f/9/0/b/w/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1f90br.png/1478194446015.jpg

A tiny little spider like that won't hurt you. It's the big ones you have to worry about. They aren't deadly, but it still hurts if they bite off the tip of a toe or a finger.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Yes, but I was down there in March visiting my cousins and being a tourist and they have about 20 of the worlds most poisonous snakes and insects. Scary

Don't forget dingoes and sea snakes.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

And I knew you'd be jumping up to defend it, EB!

To quote my friend who posted this on FB:

"The article quotes the protectors of this spider, found in a barn in Australia as a docile peaceful creature only wanting to be left in peace. I say F*%ck you. That is Satan incarnate."

CF, I knew it, I just knew that you would find that pic and freak out big time. It's only a little spider.

What you also need to go find are the cute pictures of koalas with their babies, and go awwwww, they're so cute. Google "koala escaping the flood"

Oh yeah, it's spring here. The snakes are starting to roam, it's been a longer, cooler winter than usual, so they're hungry.... come on down, it's fine!

 

[Hypoxia]

In my remote Sierra Nevada hamlet I'm glad I only have brown bears and mountain lions prowling, knocking over trash cans next door, reducing the count of loose dogs, etc. (We set the rash out 1/2 hour before the truck is due. Haven't lost a can yet. Whew.)

My sister went to Oz and returned with a coin purse made from a kangaroo scrotum. Y'all got a unique sense of humor there.

 

[SamScribble]

My sister went to Oz and returned with a coin purse made from a kangaroo scrotum. Y'all got a unique sense of humor there.

Reminds me of the story of the guy who given a purse made from foreskins. It was tiny. But if you stroked it in the right way, it was amazing how much it grew.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Huntsmen do get pretty big, but that's a trick photo just like this snap of a giant tourist about to push over the Eiffel Tower.

Notice how the woman's holding the spider on the end of a broom? That puts her a LOT closer to the camera than the human, so she looks a lot bigger in comparison (forced perspective). The photo has also been very tightly cropped, making it hard to see other visual cues that might give a better idea of her size.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Don't forget dingoes and sea snakes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdihHnaOQsk

 

[The_Ghost_Man]

Yes, but I was down there in March visiting my cousins and being a tourist and they have about 20 of the worlds most poisonous snakes and insects. Scary

And I just realized that this was Chloe posting.

How did you come down to Australia, and not look me up!! I can't believe this. You're one of my favourite authors, and I missed you. Damn.

Next time you're over, let me know, and we'll catch up.

Ghost

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes I know...along with Salt water crocs and great whites box jelly fish and orb weavers.....I know....why I'm in Texas and not there

Serious talk for a moment: Aussies love to skite about our venomous animals, but most of them are shy critters that will try to avoid conflict if they can. Animals kill about 23 people annually here, and most of that is mundane stuff like "fell off horse" or "crashed car because there was a cow/kangaroo/emu on the road" or pet dogs attacking children.

Meanwhile, Australia's homicide rate is about a quarter of the USA's, so we're probably safer here than in Texas

 

[OliviaM]

Before I even clicked the thread title, I was like... this is about a spider, isn't it? Yup.

 

[Hypoxia]

Before I even clicked the thread title, I was like... this is about a spider, isn't it? Yup.

I expected killer koalas and randy 'roos. Or maybe the rumored supervolcano. But it's only spiders. Feh. No arachnophobia here.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Serious talk for a moment: Aussies love to skite about our venomous animals, but most of them are shy critters that will try to avoid conflict if they can. Animals kill about 23 people annually here, and most of that is mundane stuff like "fell off horse" or "crashed car because there was a cow/kangaroo/emu on the road" or pet dogs attacking children.

Meanwhile, Australia's homicide rate is about a quarter of the USA's, so we're probably safer here than in Texas

Yes, but.... but ... let's talk about those scary australian snakes!!!!!! Some equipped with venom more toxic than any other snakes in the world.

http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/1537/snakes_11.gif

The Eastern Brown Snake - bad tempered, their venom ranks as the second most toxic of any land snake in the world and they THRIVE in POPULATED AREAS!!!! Its venom causes progressive paralysis and stops the blood from clotting, which may take many doses of antivenom to reverse. Victims may collapse within a few minutes.

The Western Taipan has the most toxic venom of all snakes. It has the potential to kill an adult human within 45 minutes. The coastal taipan is almost as bad - only the third most toxic venom (phew). In severe cases, death can occur in just 30 minutes.

The Mulga. the heaviest venomous snake in Australia and has the largest-recorded venom output of any in the world – delivering 150mg in one bite;

Tiger snakes are also very dangerous, with fangs that can actually bite through boots. They are attracted to farms and outer suburban houses, where they hunt mice nocturnally and can easily be trodden on by unsuspecting victims in the darkness.

The Common Death Adder: I mean, the name says it all. Common & Death together. OMG!

And what about those Koala's (no, they're DROP BEARS!!!!) - and attacks on humans are on the rise....

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr02/7/0/enhanced-buzz-26782-1381118951-2.jpg?no-auto

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr02/7/0/enhanced-buzz-24432-1381119510-0.jpg?no-auto

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr05/7/0/enhanced-buzz-24751-1381119280-8.jpg?no-auto

But when all's said and done, it's still the snakes......

http://d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/AusGeo/2013/09/10/6388/death-adder-getty.jpg
Chloe screams loudly and runs in panic......

And I just realized that this was Chloe posting. How did you come down to Australia, and not look me up!! I can't believe this. You're one of my favourite authors, and I missed you. Damn. Next time you're over, let me know, and we'll catch up.

Ghost

Thankyou - My partner and I spent a week in Adelaide visiting my cousins and enjoying the beaches, the beautiful weather, the wine, the accents and slang and the wine (ok, the wine was me, my significant other latched on to Aussie beer big time and then after a few of those I talked him into trying kangaroo on the barbie ..... a big step for him ...... a permanent step for poor Skippy (yes, I learnt all about Skippy) but lets not go there)

 

[Kantarii]

Thank God the deadliest thing we have in Atlanta is the traffic we are notorious for having. 90+ mph bumper to bumper and on I-285 everyone drives like they are in NASCAR Kant

 

[ElectricBlue]

And what about those Koala's (no, they're DROP BEARS!!!!) - and attacks on humans are on the rise....

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr02/7/0/enhanced-buzz-26782-1381118951-2.jpg?no-auto

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr02/7/0/enhanced-buzz-24432-1381119510-0.jpg?no-auto

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2013-10/enhanced/webdr05/7/0/enhanced-buzz-24751-1381119280-8.jpg?no-auto

But when all's said and done, it's still the snakes......

The thing about drop bears, Chloe, is that they recognise accents. Which is why Australians are always safe. But Americans... well... a hungry drop bear can recognise a Yankee accent from over a kilometre away, and then they stalk. They move incredibly quickly across the ground, and then climb that last tree to drop....

Their claws are so sharp, they can slice through the skull so quickly and scoop out the brain so fast, that the body doesn't know it's dead yet, and takes a few more steps....

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Let's not forget "spider rain"

http://media.mnn.com/user/137915/SpiderRainInAustralia2012-e-0519.jpg

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...science-behind-australias-spooky-spider-rain/

 

[RustyIron]

Ah Y'all need to clam down a bit folks. Yeah so we have a few snakes and spiders, Most of the snakes here ya coming, and move on before ya even close to them. They won't come hunting you ya know. The spiders well ya don't see them too often either, so y'all need to chill a bit and come see for yourself.
There is fun, frivolity, fantastic scenery, and cold beer.
Have a beer a BBQ and forget about the critters, and have fun.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The Eastern Brown Snake - bad tempered, their venom ranks as the second most toxic of any land snake in the world and they THRIVE in POPULATED AREAS!!!! Its venom causes progressive paralysis and stops the blood from clotting, which may take many doses of antivenom to reverse. Victims may collapse within a few minutes.

My first grade teacher had a wildlife ranger boyfriend who used to bring snakes into the class, and we all got to stroke a brown snake while he held the head and tail. Happy memories. I used one of his snake adventures in a story here.

Eastern Browns do have a name for aggression relative to other snakes, but that's still pretty mild compared to a bull or a badly-trained dog. People are too big for Australian snakes to eat, so they've got nothing to gain by picking a fight with us. Even when they do feel threatened enough to bite, they'll often deliver a "dry bite" without injecting venom: the snake version of a warning shot.

The Western Taipan has the most toxic venom of all snakes. It has the potential to kill an adult human within 45 minutes.

Key word there: "potential". Queensland Museum notes: "Bites have resulted in severe envenomations but there have been no human deaths to date".

The Mulga. the heaviest venomous snake in Australia and has the largest-recorded venom output of any in the world – delivering 150mg in one bite;

I used to hang out with a lot of snake enthusiasts, and they had some great stories...

One family found a python and decided it'd make a great pet for the kids. They played with it for several days before somebody who knew their snakes a little better dropped by and identified the "python" as a King Brown (Mulga) snake.

Another guy found a "python" on the road and poked and prodded it so he could get a good photo. When it tried to slither away he grabbed it and put it back in position until he was done. When he showed the pictures to an expert some days later, yep, another Mulga.

It's possible to get unlucky, but the typical snakebite victim is an 18-25 year old male with a high blood alcohol content who was trying to impress his mates.

And what about those Koala's (no, they're DROP BEARS!!!!) - and attacks on humans are on the rise....

The Australian Museum has some good info about drop bears: http://australianmuseum.net.au/drop-bear

 

[Carnal_Flower]

Famous last words . . .

People are too big for Australian snakes to eat [/url]

 

[Dream_Operator]

When I was working in Melbourne (Scoresby actually) we had a Huntsman spider living on the one of the plants in our office. It was about two inches across

The woman who cut my hair told me a story about her encounter with a Huntsman. She was driving a car with a broken sunroof, which was stuck open, and lowered the sun visor to find a Huntsman spider the size of her palm had taken up residence there. The spider fell into her lap and she nearly got into an accident.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I'd sooner go to Hell than Australia.

In Vietnam a squadron of Ozzie airmen were stationed with us, and I never seen a sober Oz-man or a chaste Sheila. Whores and drunks.

 

[Hard_Rom]

Famous last words . . .

Here hold my beer, watch this!