Tuesday, 28 May 2013

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Aussie Style



Toadfish - This guy can chomp a toe

God made this magnificent country with thousands of miles of sensational coastline, hundreds upon hundred of the most beautiful white and golden beaches, countless awesome islands, atolls and reefs with endless seas, rivers, inlets and streams. All this so man could enjoy.

But then, Mother Nature, who must have been having a bad day, came along and introduced a myriad of stingy things (deadly box jelly fish, even deadlier invisible jelly fish: the irukandji, blue octopus, stone fish, butterfly cod, dengue carrying mosquitoes and scorpions to name just a few) and for good measure all the bitey things she could think of (sea and land snakes, sand flies, sharks (lots and lots of those), crocodiles (fresh and salt water), dingoes, spiders and toad fish) just to ensure that man couldn't go swimming or wandering freely without a challenge or two or three or......

With snakes alone, there are 384 known species, 90% of those are poisonous and 25 are deadly. Australia is the only continent where venomous snakes constitute the majority of species.

However, there is a positive side: Australia has the most incredible bird, fish and animal life not to mention scenery, people and way of life, but some things are designed to keep you on your toes.  For the sake of identification, I've included some borrowed photos so you can see what I'm referring to.


Funnel web spider

The deadly Irukandji

Salt water crocodile

Highly venomous Taipan
 
Toadfish
Blue Ringed Octopus
Box Jellyfish

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