You’ve probably already heard that the friendly and inviting Australia can be a dangerous place with its deadly sharks and crocodiles, dangerous snakes, spiders, and jellyfish. And yes it’s right, all these animals live here and can be life threatening. But there is no reason to panic – you only need to know how to aviod them. Here is some information about Australian sharks and crocodiles, venomous snakes, the many types of spiders and the sea wasp jellyfish, as well as other dangers like Dengue Fever and Ross River Fever, rip current, Australian bushfires and the 2009 Victorian bushfires.
Dangerous Animals: Australian Sharks Many of Australian dangerous animals live in the water, and some of the scariest ones are sharks. There are hundreds of species of sharks in the world, but only three species of sharks in Australian waters are life threatening to us humans: Bull Shark, Tiger Shark, and White Pointer (also called the Great White). The only way to avoid sharks is to not to go into deep water, so once you do, whether you dive, swim or surf, you are taking a little but serious risk. Shark attacks are so rare they always make big news headlines both in Australia and overseas, but if you’re attacked, your chances to escape are pretty slim.
Dangerous Animals: Australian Crocodiles Another infamous group of Australian dangerous animals are crocodiles. Australian crocodiles would attack humans much more often than sharks (sharks don’t actually like human meat and only attack us when they mistake us for seals or other marine animals) but luckily Australian crocodiles are easier to avoid. You can enjoy the tropical north Australia, the only thing you have to do is to keep away from rivers, beaches, wetlands and waterholes. Don’t ignore crocodile warning signs because “you can’t see them”, because you WON’T see them – before it’s too late. They’re lurking in muddy waters and get close enough to you, before – splash – and before you know you’re pulled under the water.
Dangerous Animals: Australian Venomous Snakes Australia is also unfortunate to have the world’s most venomous snakes, like taipan snakes, sommon death adder, australian brown snake, to name a few. They are all some of the most dangerous animals in the world, but the good news is that not many of them are aggressive. Unless you happen to step on one, it’s unlikely that you get bitten. Death Adders like to hide under leaves, so avoid walking over heaps of dry leaves or wear boots and long pants.
By krossbowDangerous Animals: Deadliest Spiders There are also many types of spiders amongst Australian dangerous animals. The deadly Funnel Web Spider is found in New South Wales, including Sydney. There are different species of Funnel Web Spiders. They are 3-5cm long, black to brown, with thick hairy legs and a round body. The more famous but less dangerous Red back Spiders are smaller than funnel-webs, and have a black body and a red dot on the back. Red back spider is technically able to kill you but a ride to hospital will save you. The third dangerous Australian spider is White Tailed Spider, again a black spider, with a white tail. As a rule, the ground-dwelling spiders, and the ones that build three-dimensional nets are to avoid. Spiders that build two-dimensional nets which you are likely to walk into while bushwalking, are never dangerous.
Mosquito Deseases: Dengue Fever and Ross River Fever And then, there are the mosquitoes. Australia is lucky to lack Malaria and other deadly diseases carried by mosquitoes in tropics, but Ross River Fever and Dengue Fever make you very sick so use repellent or cover your body to avoid mozzies.
Dangerous Animals: Different Types of Jellyfish Jellyfish tend to be dangerous all over the world, but there is nothing like Australian Box Jellyfish, aka Sea Wasp Jellyfish - not the biggest jellyfish, but the most dangerous animal in the world. Its tentacles can be 3 metres long and its fatal sting has been described as the most painful the victims have ever experienced. Box Jellyfish come to north Australia’s coast in October and stay until May so between those months you are only safe to swim inside “stinger nets”, but even then a “stinger suit” is recommended because another, smaller jellyfish - Irukandji jellyfish, comes through these nets and gives you a bite that is dangerous too. Always read Jellyfish warning signs on Australian beaches, and if you do get stung by a jellyfish, pour vinegar on the wounds. There are always bottles of vinegar on the beaches where there are jellyfish.
Dangerous Animals: Cone Shells Now you think I am joking but no, mate – cone shells that look like the one on the following photo have a nasty little guy inside that pushes its tail out and gives you a poisonous snap if you touch it. Do not pick up cone shells on the beach.
Dangerous Beaches: Rip Current Some of Australian beaches are also known for their dangerous currents. When Australia’s Prime Minister at the time, Harold Holt, went for a swim on top of Mornington Peninsula outside Melbourne in 1965, he did not question why the place is called The Rip – and he went missing. To not to make the same mistake, swim only between the yellow-red flags on the beaches in Australia. They are guarded by “life savers” – who have made sure there are no rip currents, who watch out for sharks, and watch the swimmers. If anyone is in trouble they quickly drive their boat out there and they are trained to save you. In fact, they are doing a very good job.
Dangerous Beaches: Sun Exposure Is Dangerous Another danger on Australian beaches is the sun. You will see a lot of skin cancer clinics around Bondi Junction in Sydney – the sun above Australia (and even worse in New Zealand) shines through a big hole in ozone layer and will not only burn you badly – it’s much more likely to cause skin cancer than the sun in Northern Hemisphere. You’ll be surprised to see a lot of beautiful but empty beaches in Australia – but that’s why. Australians don’t bake themselves on beaches as do Europeans and north Americans. The only crowded beaches down here are the beaches full of tourists, but be aware it’s dangerous. If you have to spend a lot of time on beaches, use sunscreen and stay in shade.
Heat Stroke and Hypothermia It is also hard for some people to realise how hot Australian weather really is. I learned it when I baked myself in the sun for a few hours, thinking it was only spring and ended up with a heat stroke. It is a serious medical condition so I don’t recommend it to anyone. I have also learned hypothermia (the cold equivalent to heat stroke) the hard way. It was winter but we were visiting Heron Island in Queensland so I never thought waters could be cold. I was the only one of the group of snorkellers not wearing a warm swimming suit when all suddenly I couldn't bear the cold anymore and I swam ashore where I was standing in hot shower for a long time before I stopped shaking. You may think Australia is a warm country, and it is, but there are exceptions. If you go camping in the mountains in south-eastern part of the country, the nights get very cold even during the summer and it has happened that campers have died of hypothermia.
Australian Bushfires: 2003 Canberra Bushfires Another thing to remember when camping is Australian bushfires, particularly during the summer (December – February). Uncontrolled fires covering large areas, destroying homes and killing people are not unknown. Only in 2003, the Canberra bushfires devastated hundreds homes and in 2001 the Black Christmas bushfires did the same. You will feel very little if you are camping out there and the fires are around. It is always good to let somebody know where you are so people know to go looking for you, but I wouldn’t recommend to go camping during the bushfire season, when the air is so hot and the bush is so dry that a fire can start as easily as from a cigarett butt thrown out of a car window. In the Eucalypt forests where there is a lot of oil in their leaves, fires get big and move quickly.
Australian Bushfires: 2009 Victorian Bushfires You would have had to be living in the deepest caves in Siberia to not to have heard about the 2009 Victorian bushfires. Bushfires happen in Australia every year. Australian nature even needs them, because the seeds of some species of Eucalypts need fire to germinate. People in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales are used to bushfires and they know how to protect their homes with sprinkling systems or water hoses. They usually choose to stay at home during the bushfires to protect their houses instead of evacuating. But what happened on the 7. February 2009 was something extraordinary. People were warned and prepared for a bushfire. But they weren't prepared for a fire-tsunami, a huge wall of fire that moved 50km/h and destroyed absolutely everything in its path. It came along so fast that people had no chance, instead of trying to save their homes they were now flat out saving their lives. Many had nowhere to escape and were burned in their houses, or started escaping too late and were killed in the cars. Ash Wednesday Bushfires, which was the worst bushfire before the Black Saturday, was said to have been "a barbeque" compared to what happened on the 7. February 2009. At least 210 people were killed and whole towns were burned down in Australia's worst natural disaster ever.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
