Quote:
Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic
On a serious note:
Yes we do have some dangerous ant species but they're about the same danger as some ants found in other parts of the world. One particularly noteworthy ant is the " bulldog ant" AKA inch ant because it's about an inch long and also jumper ants. They have a potent venom that feels as though it burns (I've been stung once - once was enough). |
With the added bonus that a significant proportion of the population are allergic to some of those ant species (including jumper ants) and go straight into anaphylactic shock when bitten or stung.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic
Don't get me started on snakes, we had one at my workplace just a few weeks ago. It was more afraid of us than us afraid of it which is damned good because it was in the carpark under the cars. It was about 1.5m long and we're pretty sure it was a dugite because we've had baby dugites inside the building in the past. |
And as you'd well know, as well as many Australian snakes being deadly poisonous, some are also very aggressive. I thought I was hearing tall tales about the aggression of tiger snakes until I was chased by one. Damn thing was faster than I expected and surprisingly persistent.
I'd say the
wombat is one of the few native Australian animals that are pretty much innocuous. Oh, and some of the smaller macropods (Latin for "large foot", relatives of the kangaroo) such as the
quokka are pretty harmless too (although quokkas are cunning little thieves and are very enthusiastic about raiding tents on Rottnest Island in search of snacks).