Australia's various venomous animals

[Venomous Victoria]

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

[Mongrel]

The Western Drop bear is very dangerous

[Lambethlad]

The most dangerous animal in Oz is the horse.

[h=2]Animal related deaths in Australia:[/h] During the 10 year period in question there were 254 deaths in Australia identified as animal related. Let’s see who is responsible, starting with the biggest culprits:

 

 

• Horse, pony or donkey – 77 deaths
  
• Cow, bull or bovine – 33 deaths
  
• Dog – 27 deaths
  
• Kangaroo – 18 deaths
  
• Bee – 16 deaths
  
• Shark – 16 deaths
  
• Snake – 14 deaths
  
• Crocodile – 9 deaths
  
• Ostrich or emu – 5 deaths
  
• Others, including fish, sheep, goats, camels, cats and jellyfish – 39 deaths
  

 

The actual cause of these fatalities varies with top of the list being falling off a horse, pony or donkey, followed by being crushed or trampled by one. These creatures along with cows, bulls, kangaroos, ostriches, emus and bovine animals were also responsible for a good number of motor vehicle accident fatalities between them, over 50 in all.

[akiralx]

The most dangerous animal in Oz is the horse.

 

The actual cause of these fatalities varies with top of the list being falling off a horse, pony or donkey.

 

That does rather skew the result - I would omit riding accidents as that requires the victim to be doing that activity to begin with.