Australia is legendary and one of the most unusual places on the planet. The reason for this is the amazing (and in some places repulsive fauna) inhabiting the continent. We have all heard about what huge insects of all kinds inhabit Australia, often visit people in their homes and scare them almost to death. Giant spiders, flying beetles of large sizes, snakes and rats are only a small part of what the locals meet daily on land.
However, the coastal part of the continent boasts numerous inhabitants that can pose a danger to humans. Coronavirus restrictions are becoming a thing of the past everywhere, and the tourist flow to Australia has resumed, which is why guests of the country should be more careful.
Shark attacks
In recent years, attacks by marine predators have become more frequent on the shores of Australia. In 2020, for example, near the state of New South Wales, a shark attack was made on a 60-year-old tourist: a monster swam up to a man and bit him on the leg. Rescuers urgently pulled the victim to the shore and tried to provide him with the necessary assistance, but the traveler died of blood loss. Water police went in search of the attacking shark, but returned without anything, despite the use of drones, jet skis and helicopters.
In the same year, marine predators claimed the lives of three more people in local waters - and all these attacks were committed only in a month. In January, sharks killed a 57-year-old diver and ranger from Queensland, who was 23 years old. In the same month, a local football player was jogging along the shore, tripped over a stone and fell into the ocean, where in a matter of minutes his body was torn apart by water monsters.
A sea of masks
When the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing, states sought to help each other in this situation. China, being the first country to face the disease, began to supply humanitarian goods to neighboring countries. In May 2020, a ship with medical masks was sent from the Celestial Empire to Melbourne, but it was caught in a storm. Several dozen containers with these protective equipment fell overboard, and the cargo began to be nailed to the shore. Locals who came to the beach the next morning found that the entire shore and water were littered with masks. They urgently launched an operation to clear the space of harmful debris and coped with the work in a few hours.
Blue-ringed octopus
The appearance of these arthropods is very deceptive: for all their cute appearance, these marine inhabitants are among the most poisonous animals on the planet. At one time, this octopus is able to release such an amount of poison that is enough to kill 30 adults in a couple of minutes. On the Internet, you can find videos where divers fearlessly swim up to these creatures, take them in their arms and do not even suspect that they are on the verge of death. If the octopus feels danger, it will resort to the release of poison, which, if it gets on the body, can lead to death.
Most of these videos were made on the shores of Australia. In 2019, a case was recorded when an 11-year-old girl miraculously escaped death after a collision with a blue-ringed octopus. The lucky woman's family was relaxing on the beach of Kronalla, and the girl brought her parents an arthropod in a shell. The only thing that saved the girl and her parents was that the child did not touch the catch directly, and the animal was thrown back into the ocean.
Cube Jellyfish
The coasts of Australia, where travelers often rest, are equipped with protective nets that catch cube jellyfish. These are creatures that have a special kind of dome, resembling a rectangle in shape. In the water, they gain high speed and can sting a person so that burns lead to death.
Warts
These creatures live on the coral reefs of the seabed, having a disguise, thanks to which a person can confuse fish with a stone. It adapts to the environment, has a greenish or gray color, as well as spines, ridges and bumps. The creature's needles are so sharp and durable that they are able to pierce sturdy shoes. A person who has been exposed to the ingress of warthog venom into the body dies within 3 hours. If the body of the victim is strong, he has a chance to survive, but he will have to spend several months in the hospital.
Other dangers for lovers of sea holidays
On the beaches, Australians and visitors to the country sometimes meet two of the most venomous snakes on the planet – the inland taipan and the reticulated brown snake. There are also frequent contacts with the Sydney funnel spider, which is characterized by aggressiveness and high speed of throwing. Among the dangerous spiders of the country is an Australian widow with a recognizable red and black color. If a person passes by rivers or swamps, he should be on the alert, because in these places live combed crocodiles, which never leave the caught prey alive for more than a couple of minutes.
One of the smallest jellyfish in the world is irukandji - its average size does not exceed only 2.5 centimeters. They were discovered in 1961, and the scientist who discovered them, Jack Brans, gave the jellyfish a sting to describe the effect of the bite. Toxins of the marine inhabitant immediately caused the researcher to vomit, signs of tachycardia, pulmonary edema, terrible pain in the muscles and head, hypertension.
Cone-shaped gastropods hide in small shells painted with bright colors. These snails have a real harpoon in their arsenal for hunting – they throw a pointed tooth into the victim, which is filled with poison. The substance instantly paralyzes the victim, and sometimes immediately kills. Every year, these mollusks kill at least 3-4 people.
