Australia is a beautiful country. It is known for having beautiful coastlines and amazing weather; however, it is also known for the crazy, weird, wonderful, and deadly animals that it plays host to. So, what are some of the most dangerous animals in Australia?
10 of the most dangerous animals in Australia include:
- the Australian Box Jellyfish
- the Blue-Ringed Octopus
- Saltwater Crocodiles
- Great White Sharks
- Stonefish
- the Taipan Snake
- the Redback Spider
- the Brown Snake
- the Cassowary bird
- the Bull Ant.
With so many animals that have made Australia their beloved home, let’s look a little closer at these specific ten animals and what exactly it is about them that makes them so dangerous and even deadly.
Most Dangerous Sea Creatures In Australia
There are many animals in Australia that are incredibly dangerous; your first thought will usually be about all of their dangerous snakes and spiders.
However, some of the most dangerous animals in Australia actually live in their sea. Take a look at some of these incredibly dangerous animals that Australia’s seas have to offer:
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Australian Box Jellyfish
The Australian box jellyfish may look small, and cute, and not capable of doing much harm, but they are one of the deadliest sea creatures that Australia has to offer.
These animals have 15 tentacles and can reach lengths of up to three meters each. Each tentacle has roughly five thousand stinging cells on them.
These stinging cells release their venom in response to a chemical on the outer layer of their prey’s skin; this is why it is so dangerous to come close to these jellyfish.
They do not even need to feel threatened or like they are in danger of hurting you; they could wrap a tentacle around you by mistake, and the chemicals on your skin could trigger the response from the venom without the jellyfish making any decisions to do so.
The boxer jellyfish have caused 60 known deaths in the past one hundred years, and the severity of the reaction to the jellyfish sting will depend on the size of the jellyfish and the size of the victim.
Blue-Ringed Octopus
The blue-ringed octopus is a truly beautiful creature; its shapes and colors are absolutely amazing to look at.
Make sure that any viewing of this spectacular creature is always from a safe distance, though, as these beautiful creatures can be potentially deadly in extreme cases.
A bite from the blue-ringed octopus is usually not painful, and often it is not noticed, but moments later, unfortunately, the side effects of their bite will come out in full force.
Victims who a blue-ringed octopus bites will start to experience difficulty breathing, muscular weakness, numbness, and a strange tingling or pins and needles feeling known as paresthesia.
Unfortunately, there is no antidote or antivenom for a bite from a blue-ringed octopus, which means that victims of their bite will need to wait out the reaction and try breathing as best as they can until the reaction stops.
In some extremely bad cases of a bite from a blue-ringed octopus, people have unfortunately passed away; however, this is a very rare reaction to have.
Great White Shark, Tiger Shark, And Bull Shark
Many people are scared to go in the water at any of Australia’s beaches, as their seas are thought to be “shark-infested.”
While there definitely are many sharks in Australia’s waters, there are only three sharks that are more likely to actually attack a human.
The sharks that are more likely to attack a human are the great white shark, the tiger shark, and the bull shark.
These sharks are not necessarily ever “on the hunt” for humans; they are simply more likely to attack a human they may come into close contact with than other sharks are.
Most shark attacks will happen outside of waters that have been allocated as safe, though, i.e., people are swimming outside of the red flags that have been put up to determine what areas of water are safe and what areas are not.
Most shark attacks have been towards surfers, after which are scuba divers and swimmers.
Fortunately, most shark attacks are not fatal; although people who are attacked by sharks will usually end up with a serious injury of some sort, most shark attack victims survive the attacks.
Saltwater Crocodile
Although saltwater crocodiles are rated as one of Australia’s most dangerous animals (and rightfully so), they are generally only responsible for one human death per year.
This is a much lower death rate than those of some of the animals on this list, but it does not mean that these huge creatures are not as dangerous.
Saltwater crocodiles will usually feed on fish, turtles, small reptiles, and any unfortunate birds that get close enough; however, these huge animals have also been spotted dragging off livestock, such as pigs, sheep, horses, and even cows.
With them being able to take down such large animals so easily, that would mean that catching a human for them is probably not too big of an issue; thankfully, they usually will not just attack out of nowhere.
If you have spotted a saltwater crocodile, it is wisest for you to keep as much of a distance as possible as they are still dangerous animals and have been known to be pretty aggressive.
These animals grow between 5 to 7 meters long and can weigh anything up to 1000 kilograms – that is a massive animal!
The wild thing about these crocodiles is that despite their size and weight, they can, on average, still, run between 24 to 29 KPH on land.
So if you have spotted a saltwater crocodile, try to get as far away from it as you possibly can, as fast as you can, in a safe manner.
Stonefish
Despite having such an unassuming name, the Stonefish is actually the most venomous fish known to man so far.
These fish are often not noticed by swimmers as the Stonefish camouflages in with the ocean floor. Due to people not being able to see these fish, they are often stood on.
When these fish are stood on, they have thirteen spines that will immediately release their venom under pressure; these “attacks” can happen in 0.015 seconds.
Thankfully these fish do not really make attacking people a habit; they will use this release of venom as a defense method to avoid becoming prey and not necessarily to ever purposefully attack an animal or human.
Thankfully, the antivenom was created for this sting all the way back in the 1950s, which means that there are next to no deaths caused by a sting from these fish anymore.
Even though there are no longer any deaths caused by these fish, the reaction that your body has to their sting can include:
- Intense pain
- Respiratory arrest
- Damage to the cardiovascular system
- Convulsions
- Skeletal muscle paralysis
It is important, because of this, that you seek urgent care from medical professionals if you are ever stung by a stonefish.
Most Dangerous Snakes And Spiders In Australia
Australia is known for their crazy snakes and spiders; it is almost like anyone coming from other countries are fully expecting to come into contact with a dangerous spider or snake of some kind during their stay.
Thankfully, this is usually not the case, although Australia does have some incredibly dangerous snakes and spiders.
Let’s look at some of these dangerous animals in the snake and spider department that Australia has to offer:
Taipan Snake
First on the list (although these are in no particular order) is the taipan snake.
The taipan snakes are currently rated as the deadliest snakes in the world, although currently, in Australia, there are as few as two deaths per year that are caused by snakes.
Unfortunately, these deaths are usually due to negligence; someone is trying to kill or remove the snake without proper knowledge or equipment, or often it is someone messing around and trying to show off to their friends.
These snakes prefer to stay hidden away from people, so they are hardly ever encountered; they eat mainly rats and mice, which means they will generally have no reason to come looking for prey nearby humans.
They are often encountered in sugar cane fields and other plantations and farms where large numbers of rats and mice may be found, though, so the workers who work in these fields do need to take extra safety precautions to prevent any attacks by these snakes.
A bite from one of these snakes can kill an adult human in 45 minutes if not treated. Thankfully, there is an antivenom that has been developed for the coastal taipan, and it has also been shown that it is even effective in helping with bites from the inland taipan as well.
Redback Spider
The redback spider has been equated to as being Australia’s black widow spider.
These spiders are incredibly dangerous, and a bite from one of them can kill an adult human in a matter of hours; however, an antivenom was created in 1956.
This means that fortunately, there are almost no deaths that are caused by the venom of a redback spider anymore, as long as medical attention is sought after as soon as you have been bitten.
Symptoms that may be experienced after being bitten by a redback spider may include:
- Pain.
- Swelling may be experienced over the body.
- Headaches.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Profuse sweating is common.
Brown Snake
For such a simple name for this snake, you would not assume that it is dangerous; however, this snake is actually one of the world’s deadliest snakes.
It feels slightly anticlimactic for one of the most dangerous snakes in the world to be called “the brown snake,” though.
This snake is actually considered the second most venomous snake in the world and is responsible for 60% of snake bite-related deaths in Australia.
A bite from a brown snake in an adult human can kill you within half an hour if left untreated – it is arguably one of the quickest killing snake venoms in the world.
Thankfully, there is an antivenom that has been developed for the venom of these snake bites, but since a bite from one of these snakes can kill a human in such a quick amount of time, it is crucial to get to a hospital as soon as the bite has taken place.
Most Dangerous Land Animals In Australia
Although most of the dangerous animals in Australia are either a sea creature, a spider, or a reptile, here are two animals that are land creatures in Australia that have also been known for their deadly potential as well.
Cassowary
The cassowary bird has been known to be labeled as “the most dangerous bird in the world” by many people.
Although the cassowary will generally try to avoid any interaction with humans, they can cause some serious damage to a human if they are provoked or feel threatened.
In fact, the cassowary can cause potentially fatal damage to a human when they are provoked to do so.
The cassowary has toes that have been described as being “dagger-like.” When these birds have used their dagger-like toes in an attack in the past, they have either seriously injured humans or even killed them.
Cassowary birds have even recently been introduced into the Guinness World Records as being the most dangerous bird in the world.
If you ever spot a cassowary bird nearby, be sure to keep your distance; even though these birds may be beautiful to look at, they can also be deadly.
Bull Ant
An Australian bull ant is an ant that packs a powerful bite.
The bull ant is known for being quite aggressive, even unnecessarily so, and when they feel the need to, they will bite their victims with a bite that packs a powerful punch.
Not only is a bite from the Australian bull ant incredibly painful, but they also have a venom that can potentially be deadly to humans – especially if you are bitten by more than one of these ants at a time.
These ants have a sharp needle-like prong by their abdomens that they use to inject their venom into their prey.
Some people may not have as drastic of a reaction to this venom as others may; some people will not have a reaction to the venom outside of the initial pain and swelling of the area that was bitten.
Others may be more sensitive to this venom and may even suffer from an anaphylactic reaction caused by the venom; again, this is more likely to be the case if multiple bull ants bite you at the same time.
Conclusion
Australia plays host to many wonderful animals and creatures; some of them are amazingly cute, like the koala bear, and some of them are not so cute, like the world’s most venomous snake, the taipan.
With such a wide variety of animals, it may be hard to keep tabs on which ones can be potentially harmful and which ones are completely harmless.
The best thing that you can do when visiting Australia is to look up the area that you will be staying in and do a little homework on any dangerous animals that usually live around that area.
Once you know what you should look out for and what to avoid, you will not be as worried about every other animal you come across and worry about if they are dangerous or not.
If you are ever unsure about an animal’s safety that you may come across while in Australia, rather steer on the side of caution and avoid coming into close proximity with it; Australia really does have some crazy animals out there!
