Poisonous platypus?

[shapu]

¬_¬ So I'm wrong?

Great... Thanks alot Ricky Gervais... *walks off muttering to himself*

I'll be wrong with you. I thought they were venomous too

Such is the nature of urban legends - nearly everyone believes them. I thought that about the Daddly longlegs, too.

Random fact - the thing we usually call a daddy longlegs, at least where I'm from, isn't even a spider at all. It's a type of critter named a harvestman. It's got only one body section, rather than two like a spider, it's got eight legs, no venom, and no silk glands. Kind of boring, actually.

On the subject of dangerous animals, there's a Tazmanian Devil sanctuary that was profiled on animal planet where they do a lot of hand-rearing. Now THAT'S crazy.

[ahoteinrun]

Well, just about every animal is dangerous is some way, just for self-defense. Sharks, for example, are feared, but they only attack for two reasons: a) they have been attacked or disturbed or b) the underside of a surfboard looks like a seal.

Although I agree that just about every animal can be dangerous, I must disagree about the sharks. Some sharks will attack and eat people, and there have been cases where ship wrecked people have been obviously scarfed by sharks, and no, they did not at the time look like a seal. They looked like food. As well, many shallow water attacks have nothing to do with sharks thinking people look like seals, nor do they involve the shark having been disturbed. They involve a shark taking a 'testing' bite on someone or something to decide if it's food.

[Sir Isaac]

Well, just about every animal is dangerous is some way, just for self-defense. Sharks, for example, are feared, but they only attack for two reasons: a) they have been attacked or disturbed or b) the underside of a surfboard looks like a seal.

Although I agree that just about every animal can be dangerous, I must disagree about the sharks. Some sharks will attack and eat people, and there have been cases where ship wrecked people have been obviously scarfed by sharks, and no, they did not at the time look like a seal. They looked like food. As well, many shallow water attacks have nothing to do with sharks thinking people look like seals, nor do they involve the shark having been disturbed. They involve a shark taking a 'testing' bite on someone or something to decide if it's food.

Sharks are not the brightest of creatures. They rely almost solely on their sense of smell, as there sight is poor. They are only doing what instinct and survival has given them- to eat and continue to live, at the expense of the lives of their prey. And most shallow water attacks are from small sharks, as the larger ones, like Great Whites, cannot swim in shallows.

[ahoteinrun]

Well, just about every animal is dangerous is some way, just for self-defense. Sharks, for example, are feared, but they only attack for two reasons: a) they have been attacked or disturbed or b) the underside of a surfboard looks like a seal.

Although I agree that just about every animal can be dangerous, I must disagree about the sharks. Some sharks will attack and eat people, and there have been cases where ship wrecked people have been obviously scarfed by sharks, and no, they did not at the time look like a seal. They looked like food. As well, many shallow water attacks have nothing to do with sharks thinking people look like seals, nor do they involve the shark having been disturbed. They involve a shark taking a 'testing' bite on someone or something to decide if it's food.

Sharks are not the brightest of creatures. They rely almost solely on their sense of smell, as there sight is poor. They are only doing what instinct and survival has given them- to eat and continue to live, at the expense of the lives of their prey. And most shallow water attacks are from small sharks, as the larger ones, like Great Whites, cannot swim in shallows.

I would hardly call bull and tiger sharks, small sharks. They're quite large, and they account for quite a few of the shallow water attacks.

[Silja]

Since a little kid I've always watched TV-shows about wildlife etc. Which leads me to that I don't think there is that much that would surprise me anymore, al though who knows

[LaceyJade]

I saw something about that when I was somewhere around 7. Some Australian guy got stung or whatever by it, it took him an hour to get to a hospital. His arm swelled up so much it was disgusting.

[Fiddelysquat]

*nerd moment*

I knew that because it says so in Tamora Pierce's Wild Magic series.


...

[(*Dranzer*)]

*nerd moment*

I knew that because it says so in Tamora Pierce's Wild Magic series.


...

TAMORA! WHEEE!

I knew that too ~nya!
Don't ask about the ~nya thing.

[AFI_Sorrow]

I never knew that about the platypus. That's a strange animal anyway, as they say in the movie Dogma, it is proof of God's sense of humor. (Eheheh, come on, someone has to have seen that movie around here.)

Anyway, animals amaze me, mostly because if you think you know it all about the vast animal world, you don't. You've just seen the tip of the iceberg.

I am sure am glad that Daddy Long Leg's rumor is just a myth. On the day of our school photos a *gigantic* daddy long leg spider fell from the ceiling right smack onto my shoulder. ;___; (I cried! I was so scared!)

[(*Dranzer*)]

I think they're barbs but yes, poisonous. Exactly why Daine handles the god with care in Book 4

[Christopher]

Koala - yeah, sure it's cute. Until it's claws come out.

Or when it drops on you to knock you out so it can eat you.

Anyway, the poisonous platypi is old news.

[Twizzler0171]

And that Daddy longlegs thing is an urban legend.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/longlegs.htm

o.O I thought the black widow and the brown recluse were the most deadly spiders to man, not the funnel web spider. o.O

If I remember correctly, those are the only poisonous spiders found in North America, but I could very well be wrong, I have an awful memory. Although, I think that's what my health book said... o_o

Heh, I knew that. I went on a random spree a couple of years back where I went crazy about birds (Err, keep reading, that's not the last bit. o_o) and read up on other animals as well. I thought it was kinda cool.

[mazil]

On the subject of dangerous animals, there's a Tazmanian Devil sanctuary that was profiled on animal planet where they do a lot of hand-rearing. Now THAT'S crazy.

Haha... yeah, tassie devils are surprisingly vicious little things! I've been to one (I imagine it was probably the one from tv, though I guess there might be more than one tassie devil park in Tasmania!), and they use really really thick gloves

Wombats are funny creatures, too. They're so incredibly solid, they're like little tanks - they barge their way through fences and things Oh, and I just read this: "one defence of a wombat against a predator underground (such as a dingo) is to crush it against the roof of the tunnel until it stops breathing" (from here) ... so much for cute and cuddly!

[ria]

I knew about the Platypus, and all the other Aussie animals too. I guess that's what happens when you've lived your whole life in Australia and learnt about this stuff in Year 2, it feels like common knowledge.

And Australia is full of poisonous/dangerous animals.... though the freakiest ones to me are the Funnel Webs. I've heard so many stories about them, they completely freak me out, though the worst spider I've ever come across is a Huntsman, and I've heard that they aren't even poisonous... but all spiders freak me out. The other animal which majorly freaks me out is snakes. I have bad memories of walking to school assembly when I was in like Year 1 and seeing a Red Bellied Black Snake near the path, I was so freaked out I screamed.

Ugh.... bad memories...

[ahoteinrun]

I think Jumping spiders... are perhaps the scariest.
Because they're the smartest.

*shudder*
and a smart spider... thats a frightning creature indeed.