costard Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 DDT and shotguns took care of most of the really bad stuff years ago (check out our unpublishable history). When the croc population was getting scarily small we introduced laws to stop their being shot out - with the result that creeks I used to fish in barefoot and ten years old are now home to twelve foot salties. The snakes only to bite you if you step on them or otherwise annoy them - Darwinian selection processes tend to take care of the oxygen thieves. True Queenslanders (and Northern Territorians, I guess) have a quiet snicker to themselves each time someone gets eaten swimming in a northern waterhole - you don't mock the croc. Hey - it's all part of being an Aussie; come join us. hehehe 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 The pic is a little misleading. That bird is a finch, which is very small as far as birds go. Still, that is one huge spider. *shudder* I saw a few Golden Orbs when I was in Oz earlier this year and the really weird thing was, the people there seemed to like them. wth? Spiders eat flies, that makes them very likable for us Aussies. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costard Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 And the Golden Orb is a pretty spider. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoolaman Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 How about this one: Incidentally it's also from the Cairns Post. Most of the stuff is unlikely to kill you in Aus unless you are far from medical treatment, but will certainly make you feel pretty rotten for a while. You can easily get eaten by a Crocodile in the north, but not swimming anywhere it says "DO NOT SWIM HERE" is a good prevention. Similarly getting eaten by sharks is a pretty slim chance anywhere in the world. There are only two spiders that can kill you, a handful of snakes can kill you, some of which can be quite aggressive, but mostly will leave you alone unless you step on them. One of the most lethal nasties are box jellyfish which are fairly common in tropical waters. Most beaches have a netted area for swimming and a lot of beaches have vinegar on hand to treat stings. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted October 24, 2008 Author Share Posted October 24, 2008 That looks like a black widow. Perhaps someone threw that snake in the web. I must admit a fascination with spiders - we have had some rather beautiful orb webs and their spiders about. the webs can be rather huge, and rather irritating to walk into in the dark. I have been know to feed spiders by tossing in 'experiments', like half dead Cicadas for those Orb Weavers. Years ago at the NC State fair in Raleigh, some fella was making nice web art - he would use shellacked boards to capture webs in the morning, overspray them, frame them, and sell them. They were quite popular. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I can recall sitting on my Uncle's porch up at Parkes NSW watching the huntsmen spiders prey on the insects drawn by the porch light. I like hunstmen spiders....they're cute and relatively benign for a spider. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWDWD Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Just had to say that this thread is fantastic. I've been laughing all the way through, except for the couple of days where I stopped to take everything off the walls of my house. You know, just in case. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer_M 2.0 Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I could live in the outback...many many years here in Floriduh has taught me the pleasures of nature. although I have to ask don't you seal your houses? or have 4 walls to a house..I can't think how something that big gets in..biggest I find are 3inches maybe..but those are rare in a blue moon thing...but I've had gators on the lawn, 4-6" rattlers around, bats in trees around the house,fireants, carpenter ants, pharioh ants, velvet ants, bullant(flightless wasp really), termites, bees, killer bees in my county, yellow jackets, hornets,skeeters, ticks, norwegian rats, black widows, banana spiders, more other kinds of spiders than I want to find out about, scorpions, and that's the short list...Add the Mexicans and the pest list is near complete. kiddin on the last bit 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSgt Viljuri Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Finally understanding the weird affection the Ozzies have with beer. One would wonder why they consume so much beer, considering their weather is constantly sunny, temperatures ranging from nice to hot, I mean, isn't it like some other beverages would do better for the refreshment purposes? Not to mention, there's no emotional need to supplant one's low spirits experienced during periods of darkness as many feel up here in the North. But now we know. It's because even most fearless Ozzies are scared ****less thanks to mysteries and curiosities in the animal world they encouter on daily basis. Being moderately inebriated most of the time has its benefits, I'd guess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Aww that's not a spider.... now that's a Spider: http://www.awfulgames.com/fun/camelspider/ http://www.camelspiders.net/spiderpictures.htm 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I was wondering how long it would be before that one turned up. I almost did a search and posted it myself, but I figured it would come around before long. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 We had some in our hooch ...We tried outrunning them... We all ended up standing on our cots as the one of the beasts dragged off poor Kowalski. Frightful creatures they be. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 LOL. I can just see you all drawing lots to see who gets thrown out of the tent each night. What with the sounds of growling, ripping of still living flesh and the screams of the sacrificial victims, it's a wonder any of you got any sleep. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subvet Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 The funny thing about that is that the "camel spider" isn't a spider at all. I had a golden orb weaver right outside my front door for quite a while. She was a pretty good sized one too, although not big enough to capture a bird in her web. My daughter and I actually got to like her, and even named her Jenny. I used to turn on the light next to the web at night to help lure food to her web. We would say hello and goodbye to Jenny whenever we came and went from the house. One day I had a guy here doing some tile work in my bathroom. Evidently he didn't realize we liked Jenny, so he killer her. I was surprised by how much I was saddened by her death. It still pisses me off to this day that he killed her. She was truly a beautiful creature, and I was happy to have her living outside my front door. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I have a theory about bitey stuff. I reckon wherever man has been he'll kill stuff that is dangerous to him like snakes, spiders etc. At least he would of before we started to do it too well. So over thousands of years where places have been highly enough populated there's no more bitey things left. e.g. the most you'd get in the UK is a badger with a short temper. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugged Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 So over thousands of years where places have been highly enough populated there's no more bitey things left. e.g. the most you'd get in the UK is a badger with a short temper. Oooooh... I don't knooooow... Just the other day I was watching a news report on how a type of black widow spider has taken up residence in London (and other European cities). Seems the spiders hitched a ride there in the containers of some imported fruit. Apparently the winters are no longer cold enough to kill them off. They showed a man, who happens to search for these things as part of a study, walk to a bridge and point one out that was living quite comfortably, all nestled in the rock-work of the bridge. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Oooooh... I don't knooooow... Just the other day I was watching a news report on how a type of black widow spider has taken up residence in London (and other European cities). Seems the spiders hitched a ride there in the containers of some imported fruit. Apparently the winters are no longer cold enough to kill them off. They showed a man, who happens to search for these things as part of a study, walk to a bridge and point one out that was living quite comfortably, all nestled in the rock-work of the bridge. Yeah and now whoever saw the program is going to go round and kill it. The spreading is a different issue and one that's fairly recent. I'm really talking about when we were living off the land. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 e.g. the most you'd get in the UK is a badger with a short temper. I thought the UK had snakes (poisonous ones)? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedy Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I have a theory about bitey stuff. I reckon wherever man has been he'll kill stuff that is dangerous to him like snakes, spiders etc. At least he would of before we started to do it too well. So over thousands of years where places have been highly enough populated there's no more bitey things left. e.g. the most you'd get in the UK is a badger with a short temper. Of course having to live in the UK is enough to make for a really pissed off and dangerous Badger. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I always thought that intoxicated Chavs and Yobs was more than enough nasty wildlife for that island of yours. If I was a badger, living around people like that would make me mad too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Other Means Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Actually we do have a poisonous adder but I think you need to kidnap its children to get it to bite. This is how we do it Stefan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meach Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 We have scorpions living in London and Liverpool now. Arrived on ships and found there way into old underground tunnels and quite happily bred. Don't think they are poisonous but most are so out of the way to the populace they are not a threat. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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