Got to Keep the Threats Straight

There were reports of spiders (plural) "as large as dinner plates".  This was, of course, an exaggeration..

Police said only one spider had "invaded" the campervan and the real concern was the 2 metre long scrub python that liked to curl up on the back seat if the doors were left open.

Come on people, get your threats sorted out before calling the police!


http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-police-save-french-backpackers-from-spiders-as-big-as-dinner-plates-20160709-gq25n3.html

Nice...

The money quote:

Gympie snake catcher Cody Rowe agrees.
"It doesn't really matter what time of the year you stumble across them. Like in winter they are real slow and sluggish but give them a few minutes and they'll be right royal fine to give you a run for your money," he said.

See more at the Toowoomba Chronicle

More Disturbing Australian Creatures

Sea snake and stone fish in fight to the death

WMUR has posted an article about a fisherman in his boat headed back to Darwin on the norther coast of Australia who spied the above death struggle in the water.

This is a poisonous sea snake biting a poisonous stone fish who is biting the snake. The snake killed and ate the fish.

There are some scary things in and around Australia.

Up on the rooftop...

From the Brisbane Times.

It seems that no place in Australia is really safe. These fellows are in the city of Cairns in northern Queensland. The key quote in the article is

"The residents rang me with suspicions they might have snakes," he said.*


There were apparently two pythons on the roof fighting. Go figure.


*Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/scrub-pythons-brawl-in-roof-of-cairns-home-20150821-gj4ycu.html#ixzz3jaiuYfsn Follow us: @brisbanetimes on Twitter | brisbanetimes on Facebook

Snakes on a plain

The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), also commonly known as the western taipan, the small-scaled snake, or the fierce snake (Wikipedia)

Of the twelve most venomous snakes listed on wikipedia, only 2 are not found in Australia. However,  according to Australian Geographic, the rate at which humans are bitten is low.