Australia's Many Attractions

[kalibratecuba]

This is how many people see Australia, plus Cane Toads.

 

I saw this program in the listings and had to share.

 

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

 

[MD Puffer]

I’ve always had a fascination with the dangerous and deadly critters of Australia. 

I guess I’d be considered “soft” by anyone living there.  I sound the alarm when I find a fire ant hill in the yard. 

[garbandz]

Scientific Breakthru :side effects may include Death...........

[Fuzz]

Australian Border Security have invested in several million dollars of bags of cement. At every entry point into the country, foreign visitors will be each given a small bag at Immigration to harden up before entry.

[PapaDisco]

Has there every been a logical evolutionary theory to explain why the rest of the world evolved into "death by big predator" while isolated Australia evolved into "death by smallish bitey things?"  Great Whites excepted of course, those buggers seem to be all over the place.

[Fuzz]

25 minutes ago, PapaDisco said:

Has there every been a logical evolutionary theory to explain why the rest of the world evolved into "death by big predator" while isolated Australia evolved into "death by smallish bitey things?"  Great Whites excepted of course, those buggers seem to be all over the place.

Well, if you are not the apex predator, you better be either at least of of these; small to go unnoticed, fast so you can get away, armoured to fend off the predator, unpalatable, deadly in your own right (poisonous or venomous) or big enough (or ornery like a Tassie Devil) that you can possibly take down that predator.

Crocs and sharks have hardly evolved through time, because let's face it, they are true apex predators. There is bugger all that could take them down in their own natural environment. Without our technology, we would just be another light snack.

Now for the rest of our predators, perhaps a deadlier venom helped them to take down prey faster. And being small, they went unnoticed by their prey until it was too late. I mean, I personally hate running. Would you want to run after your meal, or would you prefer to sneak up and have it drop dead only a short distance away? Humans being the frail creatures we are, and only newly arrived into Aus (~70k years ago), just got the bad end of the evolutionary stick.

Either that, or Mother Nature decided to lock up all the small deadliest things on a remote continent she never thought anyone would bother going to, and we were stupid enough to ignore all the warning signs.

[cigcars]