Native Fauna, Adelaide

It's very difficult to be a victim of these animals while you are in Australia, but this is to alert you of their existence. Despite the fact that they can harm us, they should be protected from unnecessary killing. It is just a matter of leaving them alone.

Blue Ring Octopus
This octopus has distinctive blue rings on its body and eight tentacles. With the tentacles spread, it is about 20 cms in diameter. The Blue Ring Octopus is a deadly venomous octopus which inhabits warm waters and shallow reefs off the coast of Australia. It also lives off the coast of New Guinea, Indonesia and the Phillipines.

Stonefish
The stonefish is well camouflaged in the ocean, as it is a brownish colour, and often resembles a rock. It has thirteen sharp dorsal spines on its back, which each have extremely toxic venom. They inhabit shallow waters along the coast.

Red Back Spider
These spiders are small in size, the females being about 1cm long and the males about 4mm long. It is Australia's most well known deadly spider. They are found all over Australia, and are common in urban areas. The Black Widow Spider (found in the USA) is a close relative of the Red Back. These spiders are usually found under logs, rocks, bricks, sheds and outdoor toilets.

Brown Snake
The brown snake is approximately 1.5 metres long, and is one of Australia's more deadly creatures. They have venom which can cause death to humans relatively quickly if left untreated. Brown snakes up to 2.3 metres have been recorded in Australia. These snakes are found in Eastern Australia, however they are not found in Tasmania.

Tiger Snake
They are usually around a metre long, and have a striped marking. This is not always the case however, as the markings can change due to the seasons and the age of the snake. They can grow up to 1.5 metres in length. These are venomous snakes, and will attack if they are disturbed or threatened. Otherwise, they can live quietly. They are also often territorial. Death from a bite is quite rare these days, as anti venene is readily available.

Great White Shark
They range between 3.5 to 5 metres long, and weigh on average 1,300kg. They are grey in colour from the top, and white underneath. They have an amazing sense of smell, and can pick up blood in water a long way away. They are solitary animals, but have also been reported to swim in pairs or groups. They are found on all coasts of Australia.

Funnel Web Spider
Funnel-webs are large spiders, 1.5 - 4.5 cm body length, with glossy dark brown to black carapace. The abdomen is usually dark plum to black and not patterned. Bites are dangerous and can cause serious illness or death. They are found in gardens, houses, garages and sheds - particularly ground-level dwellings on concrete slabs. They are found in eastern Australia, including Tasmania, in coastal and highland forest regions - as far west as the Gulf Ranges area of South Australia.

Cleland Wildlife Park, near Mount Lofty, is a good place to visit to see native Australian animals; some of them you can walk in amongst and feed.

I've heard it's an Aussie trait to exaggerate the ferocity of our wildlife, but it's still true that some Aussie animals can be dangerous. Nearly everyone I know has stories of being traumatised by an emu as a child. ^^.

Okay, first, I would not recommend feeding pelicans or emus - they can peck hard, and emus run fast!

Wombats can bite, koalas can scratch and kangaroos can kick when feisty or challenging another male.

You're probably pretty safe at Cleland, with all the animals fairly used to humans, so long as you don't try to pet something that is clearly behind bars and out of reach, and so long as you take a little care feeding large birds with large beaks. But almost any Aussie animal in the wild *is* wild and will attack you if it feels threatened, cute and cuddly appearance notwithstanding.

The other side of Aussie wildlife is, of course, everyone's friends, the spiders and snakes.

Be very wary of all snakes as many are venomous, some fatally so.

Most spiders are safe - including the scary-looking, huge huntsmen - but watch out for redbacks (fat, bulbous black body with a red mark), and whitetails, and the odd funnelweb (black, hairy and totally evil-looking).

Okay, in reality, if you see any spiders, you're not exactly going to pick it up to see if it's dangerous or not, are you?

Spiders, snakes, lizards and other horrible creepy crawlies: You are probably most likely to find the first in Adelaide. In Germany, where the worst I ever saw was a Daddy-long-legs, no-one never understood why I was so afraid of spiders. If you have ever seen a Huntsman then you will understand. If you have ever had three Huntsmans in your car (one hanging off the visor above the steering wheel, one on the dashboard, one on the driver's seat) in the space of 2 months, you will be as terrified as me. Not all Australian spiders are poisonous but it's best to assume they are. It is also wise to assume they can jump, so watch out. As for the other nasties, my next most common encounter has been with lizards. If you leave them alone then you will be fine. If you must remove a large one from your accommodation, put your foot gently over the head and pick the lizard up by the tail because once they bite they do not let go.