Australia has a lot of poisonous / dangerous animals. Snakes, spiders, jellyfish, octopus, platypus, sharks (I'm sure there are more). All of the top 10 most deadly snakes can be found in Australia. It's thought that it has something to do with the harshness of the Australian countryside -- in a tough country, only the meanest & leanest survive.
One of the most poisonous spiders is the Sydney funnel-web. Its toxic venom evolved as a defensive tool against predators, rather than for attack. Unfortunately, humans are especially sensitive. However, there hasn't been a death since the development of an anti-venom in 1981.
So when we were walking through the rainforest -- our tour guide stopped us and showed us a funnel web spider hole ... and then provoked the spider to emerge by swiping a leaf over the hole.
One gross-looking spider -- and fast moving! Fortunately once it realized that the leaf wasn't food -- it popped back into its hole.
One of the most poisonous spiders is the Sydney funnel-web. Its toxic venom evolved as a defensive tool against predators, rather than for attack. Unfortunately, humans are especially sensitive. However, there hasn't been a death since the development of an anti-venom in 1981.
So when we were walking through the rainforest -- our tour guide stopped us and showed us a funnel web spider hole ... and then provoked the spider to emerge by swiping a leaf over the hole.
One gross-looking spider -- and fast moving! Fortunately once it realized that the leaf wasn't food -- it popped back into its hole.
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