Venomous Victoria

Gday Alice, Hope this helps regarding your question about Queensland’s deadly animals/wildlife. Queensland’s potentially deadly terrestrial (land) snakes are: Eastern Brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) Western Brown snake (Pseudonaja nuchalis) Speckled Brown snake (Pseudonaja guttata) Death Adders (Acanthophis various subspecies) Eastern Tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) Coastal Taipan (Oxyuranus scutalatus) Inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) Mulga – King Brown (Pseudechis australis) actually a member of the black snake family Red belly black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) Collett’s snake (Pseudechis colletti) Rough scaled snake (Tropidechis carinatus) Pale Headed snake (Hoplocephalus bitorquatus) Some lesser known less venomous species are: Yellow faced whip snake, Black whip snake, Small eyed snake, Curl snake and De Vis’ snake The Inland taipan is restricted to the south western corner of Q’land and would be very rare to be encountered which may be a preferable option to some as the species holds the title of the worlds most venomous land snake. Studies suggest an average venom yield from the Inland taipan when milked could kill up to 100 adults or 250,000 mice! If we look the commonly found snake species in Queensland the Eastern Brown would be the more likely to be encountered as its ability to adapt to human habitation in its search for its preferred prey rodents/small mammals brings it into contact with people more regularly nowadays. The eastern brown snake currently kills more people each year in Australia than any other species, due to possibly its aggressive defensive nature if cornered or provoked and the species will deliver multiple bites on occasions. The Coastal Taipan can be found in South Eastern Q’land, the Sunshine Coast right up through to the tip of Cape York and is the species best avoided at all costs. Regarded by expert’s world wide as the most dangerous snake in the world, the Taipans intelligence, defensive nature and reputation for accurate multiple strikes make this animal a real potential killer if harassed or provoked in any way. When learning to handle Coastal Taipans an old snake handler always preached to me they were the species to call ‘sir’ on every occasion and treat with the utmost respect. Many years ago a young boy was fatality bitten by an enraged Taipan, when his body was examined it was discovered he had fourteen puncture marks on his upper thigh buttock and records indicate the boy was dead in less than 20minutes. Sea snakes Approximately 30 of the worlds 50 species of Sea snake inhabit the Australian coastline, with a majority of them being found within the tropical northern waters. There has been no record of a human fatality from a sea snake bite in Australia according to statistics from reputable sources. Just to name a few here as examples: Beaked Sea Snake (Enhydrina schistosa) Elegant Sea Snake (Hydrophis elegans) Yellow Bellied Sea Snake (Pelamis platurus) Other deadly reptiles: Saltwater / Estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) A very real danger to the uneducated tourist or complacent local, a highly defensive/territorial and intelligent animal that regularly causes Australian and tourist fatalities. The Saltwater crocodile may spend days stalking its prey waiting for the right moment to launch a strike. Only two years ago when I was near Fraser Island looking for snakes official signs had been erected to warn of the small isolated populations/specimens that appear to have moved a little more south over the years. Queensland’s potentially deadly and dangerous spiders are: Red back spider (Latrodectus hasselti) Darling Downs’s funnelweb (Hadronyche infensa) Fatalities have been recorded from these two species listed above. While there are many spider species found in Queensland the fact is very few would be capable of inflicting a fatal bite on a healthy human adult/child. Numerous species however could and do have painful bites and cause uncomfortable symptoms if unlucky enough to be bitten by them, a few examples are: Mouse Spider (Missulena occtoria) Wolf Spider (Lycosa godreffroyi) White tailed spider (Lampona cylindrata) Bird Eating Spiders (Selenocosmia) Queensland’s potentially deadly and dangerous aquatic animals are: Cone shells of various species found in tropical waters should be left alone and never handled fatalities although rare have been recorded in Australia before, examples are of species to avoid are: Geographer cone (Conus geographus) Textile cone shell (Conus textilis) Reef Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa) Sharks Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvieri) Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) Australia has more than 160 species of shark which make up nearly half of the worlds species. The vast majority of these pose no threat to humans. Those that do are more than likely cases of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time. So with care most threats are avoidable, and while all shark species could be considered dangerous/deadly to man. The reality is apart from a very few species most are non aggressive in nature and will happily leave humans alone. I have only covered the three potential well known killers so to speak remembering that generally sharks will only attack humans if provoked or they're mistaken for food. Jellyfish Box jellyfish (Chironex) Irukandji (Carukia barnesi) Portuguese Man ‘o’ war/Blue bottle (Physalia physalis) Box jellyfish have caused more than 60 deaths in Australia in the past hundred years, warning signs are often situated at sites people are likely to encounter these animals but caution should be taken when entering unknown tropical waters. While there are numerous potentially dangerous or deadly animals to be found in Queensland and for that matter all over Australia, deaths from these animals are extremely rare if they left alone and admired from a safe distance. These various species listed above while all potentially dangerous to life all play a role in the unique biodiversity of Queensland native wildlife. Hope this helps Alice, sorry if I have forgotten any...if have any questions feel free to ask if there is something I haven’t covered or you are curious about. I have only outlined the animals themselves and if can offer you one piece of advice, there is only one rule to remember when dealing with dangerous/deadly animals and that is they only ever bite of Food or Fear... If we leave them alone, they leave us alone... Regards Steve

Gday all, after speaking with a few backpackers from Ireland recently i was asked to become a member of the site and offer some possible assistance to anyone with venomous Australian animal concerns or enquiries. I have included a quick rundown off what/who we are and feel free to contact with questions of concerns. Venomous Victoria has been involved with venomous animal safety, conservation and education since the early 1990’s, offering a professional and personal service that combines proven experience and knowledge with above all a common-sense approach to dangerous animal management and control. From the backyard, to the bush, to the beach Australia and Victoria are home to some of the most venomous creatures known to man. The commonly found four Victorian snake species are ranked in the top ten of the worlds most venomous species, the Southern blue ringed octopus possess one of the most powerful venoms known to man. Two Victorian species of spider have been recorded to contain venom that causes tissue destruction, and one species has caused human fatalities. Venomous Victoria is not about asking people to love snakes and spiders and other animals that nip or nibble, we only ask that consideration and common sense are taken into account when dealing with them. In the case of the commonly found four potentially deadly Victorian snakes: Lowland Copperhead (Australaps superbus) Eastern Tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) Eastern/Common brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis) Red-bellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) Deaths are quite rare and often caused due to the mis-management of the bite and inappropriate or ineffective first aid treatment. As recently as 2009 Australian studies revealed “that application of the pressure bandage technique, by both the general public and even health professionals was "poorly done” and importantly, “crepe bandages rarely generated optimal pressure compared with elasticized bandages” * “Education about the PIB method (pressure immobilization bandage) in Australia appears to have been inadequate, with people commonly not applying splints, or even neglecting any attempt at first aid at all” * · Emergency Medicine Australasia (2009) 21, 184-190 The pressure/immobilization technique (P.I.B) illustrated can also be applied to bites from the funnelweb spider family, the blue-ringed octopus, the various species of cone shells found in northern Australian waters & extreme reactions to bee sting. When comparing the common brown and tiger snakes of Victoria, Australia and the numbers of human fatalities recorded by these species against that of the Indian cobra (Naja naja). The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene reported in 2011 that the Indian Cobra (Naja naja) is responsible for approximately 46,000 human deaths every year. The Indian Cobra would not rank in the top ten of Australia's most venomous snakes! Victoria’s Common/Eastern Tiger snake’s venom is approximately 4times more toxic than the Indian Cobra and the Common/Eastern Brown snake is approximately 12times more toxic than the Indian Cobra. Annually in Victoria there are on average of 375 hospital admissions and more than 1,100 emergency department presentations as the result of venomous bites or stings. The majority of Victorian envenomations are associated with bee/wasp sting and spider and snake bite. There is evidence of an increasing trend in hospital admissions, between 1987 and 1996, related to venomous bites and stings, particularly spider bites and bee and wasp stings. The incidence of snake bite has remained constant over the same period. Hazard (Edition No. 35) June 1998 When encountering a snake/spider please remember that the animal you are dealing with relies on highly primitive behaviours and traits that have seen these species successfully survive over millions of years. Some of these animals have a brain the size of a grain or rice or less, limited eyesight and hearing and do not wish to have any contact what so ever with the human species having learnt the encounter normally ends in death. In all the years I have been dealing with various ‘aggressive’, ‘dangerous’ or ‘deadly’ animals, one thing I have learnt is they only ever bite out of food or fear. For any enquiries about venomous animal safety, advice or education please feel free to contact us 24hrs a day 7days a week with any Australian venomous animal concern or query. Regards Steve Venomous Victoria