Before arriving in Australia, I had the misconception as others sometimes do, that one of the most dangerous things I'd have to watch for were sharks. This was quickly corrected as I talked with Australians and learned more about the more dangerous creatures found around different parts of Australia.
First and foremost, death by shark attack is very, very rare. Although some cases have been reported of bites to surfers or divers, they tend to stay away from swimmers. This is an excerpt from the Shark attack file researched by the Taronga Zoo and the Western Plains Zoo:
"Although Australia continues to have a bad reputation concerning the threat of shark attacks to swimmers, the statistics do not support these contentions. In the last 50 years, there have been only 60 human fatalities (1.2 per year) in Australian waters from shark attack. Some years there are none, other years there have been up to three in a year, but the average remains around one per year. Yet each year 100,000s of swimmer-days take place on our beaches, harbours and rivers and the number is increasing with both increasing population and tourism."
South Australia has reported the most cases where sharks have attacked surfers and divers. Everyone knows surfers resemble seals to sharks whereas swimmers usually are making enough noise to put off a shark. Further research online gives tips on what to do when spotting a more-than-curious shark.
Sharks in Australian Waters
Shark Safety
The main things I've picked up on what to do still hold up. If attacked, try to hit it back in the nose or the eye. Stand vertical to show you're not a seal. Don't swim at dawn and dusk since that seems to be the best time for a shark to feed. Swim with others. Don't swim while bleeding. Where a neoprene wet suit (taste) and no jewerly or highly contrasting colors (attracted by difference in colors).
Since I reside mainly on land like most people, there are poisonous creatures out there I thought I should be more aware of.
"List 10 of the most venomous snakes in the world and they can all be found in Australia. " This was told to me by one of my American coworkers. Wondering if that was true, I did some Google-ing and found that it was correct to a degree. But the difference between venomous and poisonous need to be explained. Poison is toxic if inhaled or ingested. Venom is generally harmless if ingested, it's toxic if it comes in contact with tissue beneath the skin. So a snake would have to strike you with a bite and inject the venom for you to be in trouble. In some tests on snakes, the venom is measured by it's effect on mice. This doesn't really prove how it effects humans since using the same test, a funnelweb spider's venom on a mouse would be 50 times less responsive compared to a human. The funnelweb spider is one of the most venomous spiders in Australia.
My friend like to play up the chance of getting killed by snakes common to Australia. When in fact snake bites are not common and Australia's snakes tend to be less agressive and will only bite if it feels threatened or startled. A snake also has to inject venom in the bite. Which depending on the snake, it may not inject even after several repeated bites. I'm not advocating walking out in the bush barefooted and looking for trouble, but I hate when we as humans jump to conclusions before checking facts. There are usually 3 or more deaths a year in Australia from snake bites. Anti-venom has brought this number down from years prior.
That's not to say they are looking for human's to attack, I just like to educate myself on what they look like so I'm ready for the next person that tell's me something more myth than fact.
Here's a listing of spiders, snakes and other venomous creatures found around Australia. I found these links to be interesting and suggest reading to get an idea of what can be seen here.
Australian Venomous Creatures
Victorian Spiders
