Since the years of Crocodile Dundee and especially after the death of Steve Irwin (the famous Crocodile Hunter who passed away after a small altercation with a stingray), Australia has gained fame to be a country where almost everything in nature can to kill. While it is conceptually correct (in theory even an asparagus can "kill" you), the lethality of Australian flora and fauna has often been exaggerated, so it is time to see objectively what dangers there are and to learn a pair of security measures if you are visiting the country.

First, facts!

In Australia there are thousands of animals, insects, arachnids, sea creatures and plants (yes, plants) that have substances toxic to humans. From the top-ten of the world's most venomous snakes, at least eight are Australian, some of which you may find in the backyard of your house if you live on the periphery of the big metropolis. And if you’re thinking that because you live in the city you’re safe, well, not: there are several types of spiders whose sting can be deadly, in addition to ants (some of them jump) and wasps.

As if that were not enough, Australia also has a nationwide plague of cane toads: plumps with two venom glands on the sides of the head. They breed like rabbits, they are hard to kill and it seems they are not afraid of anything. Often to get into the pool you have to dislodge several toads and at night you cannot walk in the yard with bare feet to not step on them.

Uh, not water.

If you thought that by throwing yourself into the water you would be safe from these terrestrial dangers, think twice: if you jump into a river you can encounter crocodiles (and even sharks), and if you go to the beach and manage to avoid the snakes that walk By the dunes, you can step on a stone fish when putting your feet to the sea. For your luck, "only" ranks fifth among the most venomous sea creatures.

Even in the first meters of the beach and rocks there are sea serpents, aggressive moray eels, poisoned harpoon mollusks, and the beautiful but deadly blue-ringed octopus that became famous in the James Bond film "Octopussy" in 1983). Going a bit further inland there are white sharks, manta rays and various types of jellyfish, among which the most poisonous living being on the planet stands out: the jellyfish known as the box jellyfish. A few grams of its poison are enough to kill 60 people! Those who survive the bite may spend weeks suffering acute pain from the remnants of toxins in the body.

Tender but deadly

Even the platypus, symbol of Australia, along with the kangaroo and the koala, has two poisonous spurs on its hind legs. In a sense, the Australian fauna is extremely hostile and therefore, evolutionarily had to develop methods to protect the environment. You often see magpies in the city attacking cyclists who were unlucky enough to pass near the nest, and when children in schools go on a trip often use boxes of ice cream on their heads to protect themselves from the beating of these reckless feathers. It is said that if a magpie gets you to lie down, it lies on your chest and goes through your eyes. Like taken out of a Hitchcock movie, right?