Animal Hazards

Following on from my Red Back Spider article, I've been asked to give a brief run down of what Animal Hazards are in Western Australia in particular.

As Bill Bryson says in his book Down Under, "It is the driest, flattest, hottest, most infertile and climatically agressive of all the inhabited continents and still Australia teems with life - a large proportion of it quite deadly. In fact, Australia has more things that can kill you in a very nasty way than anywhere else".

Mother Nature must have been pretty hacked off when she concocted the local wildlife. Apart from poisonous snakes and spiders Australia also has it's fair share of shark and crocodile attacks and is home to the world's deadliest creature, the box jellyfish. Despite all this you don't need to be in a state about it, most people don't see any of these creatures in the wild, much less be attacked by one.

I am the most cowardly person when it comes to spiders for instance, I can kill them either with a entire can of spray or a strong fly swat but I'm certainly no lover of them. What I'm trying to say is that nothing comes out to grab you, goes out of it's way deliberately to bite you and you need to think of everything in context.

If you do happen to get bitten it's useful to know what it was that bit you and go to the hospital as soon as possible. All hospitals have antivenin on hand for all the common snakes and spider bites.

Crocodiles

Again, no need to be worried about the area around Perth. Saltwater crocodiles ("salties") are found in the far north west of WA. They live around the coast and are found in creeks, rivers and estuaries sometimes a long way inland. Safety signs are around and if in doubt ask a local before dipping a toe in the water.

Snakes

There are loads of venomous snakes in Australia, the most common being the brown and tiger snakes. Snakes are not agressive and are actually quite timid in nature unless you happen to be standing on one or interfering with it (forget Steve Irwin at this point, that guy is a nutter!). If you see a snake, leave it alone and walk away. If you're walking in the bush, stomping your feet and talking in a loud voice or singing is enough to let the snake know that you're coming and it will get out of your way.

The reputation of snakes in terms of the potency of their venom is justified but unjustified in terms of their actual risk to travellers and locals.

I've only seen two snakes so far in 18 months of being here. They were in the South West whilst we were on holiday in the Margaret River region and both were basking in the sun by the side of the road as we drove past.

Spiders

Australia has a number of poisonous spiders but the only one to have caused a single death in the last 50 years (the Sydney Funnel-Web) isn't found in WA.

The redback is the most common poisonous spider in WA. It's small and black with a distintive red stripe on it's body. If you get bitten, apply ice and go to the nearest hospital.

The whitetail is a long thin black spider with a white tail and has a nasty bite that can lead to infection and unlceration, again go to the hospital if you are unfortunate to get bitten.

The large huntsman and garden orb weaver spiders are harmless apart from the fact that seeing one can affect your blood pressure!

We've seen all these types of spiders around the outside of our house, but none of them leapt out at you and if you spray your house you shouldn't find any inside.

Insects

Mozzies can be a problem in Summer up in the tropical areas, take mozzie spray with you.

Sharks

Despite all the media coverage that goes on when a shark attack has taken place, the risk of an attack is very low. If you think of how many people are in the water off Australia on any one day then the risk is virtually non existant. However, there are times when it's advisable not to be in the water; at night (like you'd want to! I'm afraid night swimming in the open ocean is not for me!), at dawn and dusk. Also when the water isn't clear (I'm not talking about needing to see right down to the bottom here but if the water is full of sand churning up from the bottom then you should stay clear). Patrolled beaches are best and if there are any dangers you'll see the warnings.

Perth has a shark spotting plane out every day during the spring, summer and into autumn which buzzes up and down the coast and if they spot anything then the surrounding beaches are closed until they are deemed to be safe. For instance, Mullalloo beach was closed for a morning this Summer just gone as the plane had spotted a shark (I don't think they knew what type it was) in the sea grasses about 200 metres out. The beach was closed until the plane was sure that the shark had gone.

I really don't worry about this...alll my family including my 4 year old son love the water and the risks are so low that it's not worth thinking about.

Marine Animals

You don't need to worry about the box jellyfish near Perth as they don't come this far south (they like the ocean much warmer) but if you're visting the far north of Western Australia then you need to be aware. They can be around at any time of year but November to March is when they arrive in the bucketloads. Only swim from beaches that are patrolled as they will be able to advise you if there are any jellyfish swarms in the area, warning signs are posted at affected beaches and stinger nets are in place at the more popular beaches.

Stonefish are found only in tropical Australia from the northwest of WA upwards. Don't walk on rocks or anything that looks like rocks even when the tide is out as stonefish can survive without water covering them until the tide turns.

Comments

[Rikki]

And then he walked from perth to freo :)

[Claire Sutton]

Indeed he did! I seem to remember that he got extremely sunburnt doing it too!

[rob]

my family and i are planning to move to perth next year and we have found your article about all the danderous animals interesting. we would greatly appriciate any more information on the dangers in perth as my partner is quite worried about the spiders and snakes and sharks and just about everything really!
thankyou very much
rob

[Claire Sutton]

Hi Rob and thanks for visiting the site.

There's not much else to worry about really.

You will see redbacks about the place (don't worry about them, get some outdoor insect barrier spray (Mortein is a good one) and spray around the outside of your house every 6 -8 weeks or so), you may or may not see snakes (we've been here for 2 years and only seen two snakes by the side of the road sunning themselves in the South West around Dunsborough area)and you'll probably never see a shark unless you go looking for one.

Most people from the UK in particular get worried about this but I think there's no more to worry about than crossing the road in the UK!

Just follow the common sense rules (ie do gardening with gloves on, don't swim early in the morning or at night etc etc)and you'll be fine.

Hope this helps!

Regards, Claire

[Bev Shippley]

Great information. My family and I are hoping to be in Perth around feb/March time. We've never been before and taken the the chance to migrate there. My husband is worried about spiders and all sorts and i keep telling him not to be silly but deep down i am to. Someone told me that you have to check your pillows and toilets seats , Is this true??? Can we get the house professionally sprayed to keep creepies out of the house???

[Carol Hewson]

On visiting a local Perth beach, my son got stung by something in the water, he claims it was blue and had a tenticle - he is 9 and said it looked a bit like a spaceship. There was no apparent whelting at the time just pain but a day after is a different story, he has a very red rash spreading up his foot and shin, would you have any idea what this could be, Im looking for a few answers. thanks,

[Claire Sutton]

Hi Carol

It sounds like it could be the Blue Bottle Jellyfish. Get him to have a look at this link and see if he recognises it -

http://www.australianfauna.com/bluebottlejellyfish.php

If it isn't this jellyfish, the Australian Fauna site has lots more so have a trawl around and see if he can identify which one got him.

As for treatment, an icepack is the best bet and paracetamol.