How Deadly Are Australia’s Animals?
Even more than for its gorgeous opera house, sandy beaches,
or colourful reefs, Australia has cemented its reputation as home to some of
the world’s deadliest animals. Or, if
you believe the rumours, maybe even all of the world’s deadliest animals.
The numbers show something else. It is estimated that Australia hosts 66 venomous species, ranking beneath countries such as Brazil (with 79 species) and Mexico (with 80). But if it’s the amount of venom in those creatures that counts—which is certainly the case if you find yourself bitten or stung by one—Australia’s most-deadly status starts to make more sense. Stonefish, Sydney funnel-web spiders, inland taipan snakes, and box jellyfish are among the most venomous of their kind. The Elapidae family of snakes, a venomous group that is distinguished by its short fangs and agile nature, may serve as the most effective illustration of Australia's problem with deadly animals. 60 of the 300 elapid species found in Australia's waters and land include the taipan, coral snake, and mamba. Some are small and shy around humans, while others are large and obtrusive. Elapids kill by injecting a neurotoxic venom that immediately paralyzes prey, striking with a downward stabbing motion.
A
prey animal, such as a rodent, small bird, or even a snake, cannot escape being
completely devoured after being bitten by an elapid. If given the chance, a
single taipan bite can kill 250,000 mice with its venom. Because they are
almost all elapids, almost all Australian snakes are venomous. Researchers use
the theory of continental drift, which posits that Earth’s continents once
experienced a large-scale movement away from one another, to interpret the
lineage of this dangerous population.
When landmasses separated, Australia’s snake population was likely entirely venomous. Although other
continents retained populations of venomous and nonvenomous snakes after the
continental drift, resulting in a diverse snake population today, Australia’s
modern-day snakes share purely venomous ancestors—a heritage resulting in the
most toxic group of snakes on the planet.
However, although Australia is home to some of the world's deadliest creatures—we haven't even discussed the Sydney funnel-web spider, whose bite releases a neurotoxin that can kill a child in just 15 minutes—Australia is not the deadliest continent. Contact with its venomous inhabitants is, in reality, incredibly rare. Deaths caused by such a sting or bite are even less common now that antivenins have been developed to combat the toxins produced by various species. From 2000 to 2013, only 64 people were killed by venomous bites or stings, resulting in 41,000 hospitalizations. Naturally, not only venomous species can be deadly.
Sharks
have no venom, nor do cassowaries, which are considered perhaps the most
dangerous birds in the world, thanks to the daggerlike nails on two of their
six toes. Even though both
animals are regarded as a threat and are prevalent in Australia or the waters
surrounding it, it is still relatively uncommon for either to attack humans.
There have been fewer than one fatal shark attack per year in the past, with
nonfatal attacks ranging from 8 to 19 per year between 2011 and 2020. Only one
cassowary-related death has occurred since the 1920s, even though cassowaries are more likely to interact with humans and attack more than 200
people annually.
Does Australia deserve its deadly reputation? Certainly.
Australia's animals have an extraordinary capacity for killing,
especially in comparison to those of other continents. But will an encounter
with an Australian animal kill you? Most
likely not, unless you find an inland taipan in its desert home and provoke it.
Visitors to the continent can take comfort in the knowledge that there is an
antivenin for the Sydney funnel-web spider's bite, so a hairy spider face won't
be the last thing they see. Science has not yet discovered why the Sydney
funnel-web spider needs to be so venomous.
Comments
Post a Comment