Australia's Deadly Dangerous Creatures Quiz

Answer: The estuarine crocodile.

The estuarine crocodile or saltwater crocodile is the largest of all the "Crocs". They are known as "salties" by those that live in the "Top End" (the top part of Australia). As the name suggests, the estuarine crocodile can be found in the ocean as well as in rivers, billabongs and swamps. They are considered extremely dangerous.

The freshwater crocodile is also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, the "freshie" and the Johnston's crocodile. The freshwater crocodile is apparently not capable of killing a human as their jaws are not big enough to inflict serious damage (but I am not keen on putting that to the test).

The morelet's crocodile is found in Central America.

The orinoco crocodile is found in South America.

Answer: True

True - The estuarine crocodile can be seen basking on the edge of waterways. Their perfect temperature is between 30-32 degrees Celsius (86-90 degrees Fahrenheit). When they start to get a bit hot they open their mouths and this allows air to circulate. Alternatively they will either seek shade or slide into the water to cool off.

Crocodiles leave distinctive tracks when sliding down a bank into the water. To avoid being a victim of a croc attack keep away from these marks as the croc may return to the same spot.

Answer: The safest time to swim/wash is during the night as they have poor night vision.

It is NEVER a good time to swim in areas inhabited by "salties"! They have excellent vision in murky water during the day or night. Their sense of smell is excellent and they can feel vibrations within the water. When submerged, the only part of the croc that can be seen are the eyes and nostrils. When a crocodile submerges, a special valve will close off the openings of the nostrils.

Salties are territorial and will gather in places with a large food source. The group will be led by a dominant male.

Saltwater crocs have been known to be found hundreds of kilometres inland after they follow the rivers.

Salties can also be found in Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Indonesia and Cambodia, just to name a few places.

Answer: The taipan.

When it comes to making a list of the worlds most dangerous snakes there has been, and will probably always be, a huge amount of debate over what snake falls into what rank/rating, but the Inland taipan wins the coveted spot of number one.

The inland taipan is also known as the western taipan or the fierce snake.

Another member of the taipan family, called the coastal taipan, is also in the top 5.

The death adder, the red bellied black snake and the eastern brown snake all fall into the top 20 list. Australians are also the proud owners of the tiger snakes, the copperheads and the mulga snake, all of which are highly venomous.

Answer: Northern Territory.

The tiger snake can be found in every state and territory of Australia EXCEPT the Northern Territory. They are located in the more high populated areas of Australia and are highly venomous. The two types of tiger snakes are:
-The eastern tiger snake (Found in Victoria, Eastern New South Wales and Southeast Queensland). It is also known as the mainland tiger snake.
-The black tiger snake (Found in Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia and islands in the Bass Strait). It is also known as the western tiger snake, the Krefft's tiger snake, the peninsula tiger snake and the chappell tiger snake.

Answer: Tasmania.

Death adders are NOT found in Tasmania. The main species are: The common death adder, the desert death adder, the northern death adder and the pilbara death adder. Unlike other snakes in Australia, the death adder does not leave the area when humans approach, instead they remain motionless and camouflaged. Bites to humans occur when they are accidentally stood on. Death adders are ambush predators. They have triangle shaped heads and are thick bodied with a small tapered tail.

Answer: Copperheads are found in locations that are too cool for other venomous snakes.

The copperheads are unique because they can be found in places that are colder in climate. These areas are considered too cold for other dangerous snakes. Because copperheads have a tolerance of colder conditions, they will be out and about a bit longer than other snakes that have already started hibernating. The copperhead can be found in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. They are not found in Queensland or The Kakadu National Park.

Copperheads are coloured from copper to black with a light coloured underside (usually cream, yellow or orange).

Copperheads eat other snakes, frogs and lizards and are also known to eat members of their own species.

The cane toad venom is lethal to ALL Australian snakes EXCEPT the keelback snake. As a result of snakes using the cane toads as a food source, there is concern about the decreasing numbers of death adders and red-bellied black snakes.

Answer: Yes

Yes - there has only been ONE recorded death in Australia, and that was believed to be caused by an allergic reaction. People are killed every year in other countries by scorpions.

All scorpions are venomous.

Scorpions are in the same class of animals as spiders. This class is called Arachnida.

Female scorpions carry their babies on their backs.

Scorpions glow in the dark when exposed to ultraviolet black light.

Answer: Dengue fever.

The correct answer is dengue fever which is restricted to the northern parts of Queensland.

Ross River fever and Barmah Forest virus can be contracted Australia wide.

The Ross River fever can give you fevers, a rash and even arthritis that can last for a few months or drag out for years.

Another mosquito borne disease is Australian encephalitis (Also called the Murray Valley encephalitis). This disease has caused fatalities and can cause damage to the nervous system.

Answer: Josef Bredl.

Josef Bredl came to Australia from Austria and hunted crocodiles for a living. Josef was considered to be an expert on Australian reptiles. The Bredl's python (Morelia bredli) was named in his honour. His son, Rob Bredl, is known in Australia as "The Barefoot Bushman", because he walks about the bush looking for animals barefoot!.

Although Rob may not be as well known as Steve Irwin he has been cranking out documentaries on Australian wildlife and Australian dangerous animals. He is responsible for the documentary series: Killer Instinct, The Barefoot Bushman and Deadly Predators. These can be found on DVD. Rob was born in Renmark, Australia in 1950 and is also the owner of a few wildlife parks.

Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) was born in February 1962 and passed away in September 2006.

Terri Irwin was born in 1964 in The United States. She was married to Steve.

Charlie Carbone is a fictional character.

Answer: The kangaroo and emu were chosen and positioned on the Australian Coat of Arms as a symbolisation of Australia moving forward as both animals have difficulty moving backwards.

The kangaroo looks like a cuddly creature, but it is not as cuddly as you think. Red kangaroos can support their weight on their tails and can kick with amazing force with their hind legs. If they are provoked or you threaten their offspring then you could be in for a nasty surprise - they kick, bite, scratch and punch.

Kangaroos are also responsible for road crashes while they are out and about searching for food on the roadside. It is rather scary to have a large kangaroo suddenly jump out in front of you while travelling at 100 km/h! If you can't avoid the kangaroo it can potentially end up ploughing through your windscreen.

Kangaroos do NOT have poisonous spurs, however another native Australian animal, the platypus, does. The male platypus has spurs on the hind legs that contains venom.

Kangaroos are found all over the Australian mainland and Tasmania.

Answer: The huntsman.

The huntsman is considered harmless but it is a very large, long legged spider. They can be up to 15cm wide and look scary. If bitten, you will just get local swelling and soreness.

The redback is well known around the world and is very common in Australia. If bitten, the bite area can be excruciating. If bitten, you should apply an ice-pack on the bite site and seek medical care. DO NOT apply a pressure bandage as it makes the pain worse.

The mouse spider has large fangs that give deep and painful bites. The treatment of the mouse spider bite is the same as that of the funnel web.

The funnel web spider is a large, black, aggressive, ugly looking spider that rears up on its hind legs when threatened. If they fall into a swimming pool they can survive several days under water. The Sydney funnel web can be found in NSW. The bites are dangerous causing serious illness or death. If bitten, a pressure/immobilisation bandage should be firmly applied along with a splint. SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT IMMEDIATELY.

Answer: True

The daddy long-legs can, and will, eat a redback spider and even a huntsman. On the other hand, a redback is also capable of killing and eating trapdoor spiders and small lizards.

The redback is a relative of the katipo spider from New Zealand and the black widow spider of America.

Answer: Box jellyfish

The box jellyfish (or the Australian box jelly fish or the sea wasp) is extremely dangerous. The tentacles can be up to 3 metres (10 foot) in length.

Vinegar being poured over the tentacles for at least 30 seconds will disable them and then they can be removed. Be prepared to perform CPR in serious cases.

As the name suggests, the box jellyfish is cube shaped (or bell shaped) but always with 4 sides.

Answer: The great white shark can no longer be found near Port Lincoln, South Australia (where it was abundant) due to heavy culling and over exploitation of the fishing grounds.

Great whites are very much alive and well near Port Lincoln. Rodney Fox conducts tours to the area.

The first recorded incident was in 1791 and it involved an indigenous female who was killed in New South Wales.

By 12th February 2009, there had been 193 FATAL shark attacks in Australian waters. In total there have been 719 shark attacks. The highest numbers have been in Queensland (73) and New South Wales (72). The Northern Territory has had a mere 3 fatal attacks, the last being in 1938 on Bathurst Island. I would suggest that the "salties" pretty much encourage people NOT to swim in the NT beaches!

Rodney Fox was indeed attacked by a great white shark in 1963 and lived to tell the tale. While competing in a spear fishing competition, he was attacked and grabbed around the chest, yet he managed to escape and survived. He lives in South Australia and now owns "The Rodney Fox Shark Experience", a museum dedicated to sharks. He is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on sharks and is an advocate of saving them rather than killing them.

The Taronga Zoo keeps an up to date record of Australian shark attacks called the "Australian Shark Attack File".