Hi,
> Hang on, I seem to remember that 8 out of 10 of this planet's most
poisonous
> creatures are to be found in Australia, isn't that dangerous Andy
(whinging pom)
Another "creep hotspot" is the Amazone. Especially one of my favourite
countries (Venezuela) almost has it all: Anaconda's (normally not dangerous
for people), crocs, extremely venomous frogs, caterpillars, snakes, spiders,
centipedes, fire ants, killer bees, piranhas, vampires, you name it...
Yet... for all the venom/danger these animals may carry, I don't recall ever
having seen one. I think one has to actually go out into the jungle to
encounter them. Then, the real danger still comes from the not so elusive
mosquitoes. Indeed, these "Malaria transferrers" are still man-killer no. 1.
It doesn't sound as exotic as being eaten by a shark/croc/bear, but indeed,
this little pest still holds the record body count...
Then regarding the US, we have twice come close to dangerous animals that we
were aware of, once in Yellowstone, way back in 1975 when there was a
Grizzly bear tearing up a tent to extract a loaf of bread from it on the
same campsite as we were, and once back in 1994. The latter experience was
more treacherous, for we were sitting at a picknick table in Oregon and I
noticed these funny little furry yellow balls trapped in some webs. Upon
closer inspection under the picknick table, I found some well hidden -but
within a hand's grab for a human- black widows. Now, these are normally not
lethal, but their bite is still described as excruciatingly painful; doesn't
sound like my picknick!
Cheers!
Olafo
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