While Australia has spiders, jellyfish and other animals with lethal venom, the reality is that bites and deaths are rare. Death is even rarer two to three cases a year. Animals that cause the greatest burden of human suffering and death are the ones we need to be most worried about, and from that perspective, the most dangerous are not Australian. Consider snakes, one of the most feared groups of venomous animals in the world.
If we want to know which snakes are the most dangerous, we should consider the global, rather than individual impact. Perhaps the most dangerous of these three genera is a diverse group of small, seemingly innocuous vipers that range from Sri Lanka and India, across the Middle East and through a huge part of the northern half of Africa.
There are many reported examples of brown snakes killing black snakes , too. Overall, no scientific evidence suggests one suppresses the other. There is also no evidence blue-tongue lizards prey upon or scare brown snakes. While the term poisonous and venomous are often used interchangeably, they mean quite different things. Read more: Why are some snakes so venomous? Venom is a specialised type of poison that has evolved for a specific purpose.
For venom to work, it needs a wound to enter the body and into the bloodstream. Snakes, therefore, are generally venomous, not poisonous. But there are exceptions. For example, the American garter snake preys on the rough-skinned newt which contains a powerful toxin. Remarkably, these snakes can also assess whether a given newt is too toxic for them to handle , and so will avoid it. Altogether, only 0. Australia has solid-toothed non-venomous species pythons, blind snakes, file snakes and rear-fanged venomous snakes like the brown tree snake and the mangrove snakes.
However, the most dangerous Australian snakes belong to the front-fanged group, which includes the Taipan, Tiger, Brown, Death Adder, Mulga and a few species of sea snake.
In the harsh environment where it lives, the Inland Taipan uses deep cracks and fissures formed in the dry soil to hide from predators and escape the midday heat. This snake has also adapted by changing color with the seasons: it is darker in winter and lighter in summer to either absorb or refract the heat.
The Fierce Snake, which normally feeds mainly on small mammals - mainly rat - is considered the world's most venomous snake. The rodents are killed with a series of rapid accurate strikes and deep injections of venom. The Inland Taipan's venom is said to be 50 times more potent than that of the Indian Cobra and a single bite is etimated strong enough to kill some , mice - measures of venom potency are actually always performed on mice, which might only be remotely linked to their potency on humans-, or an equivalent of over people.
However, this doesn't make the Inland Taipan the most dangerous snake in the world, since it is rarely encountered and incidences of bites are extremely rare - besides, antivenin is available and efficient-. In fact, there have never been any human fatalities caused by this species. It can be found in the forests and open woodlands of northeastern and extreme north Australia as well as in New Guinea.
This large snake - it can exceed 2 meters - can move extremely fast and is responsible for more than half the deaths due to snake bites in Australia. This is partly due to the fact that its favorite preys are mice and rats which brings it into close contact with humans as it hunts around farm buildings. However, thanks to efficient first-aid treatment and antivenin, the Eastern Brown Snake causes now only 1 or 2 human deaths a year.
This snake is considered the second most venomous snake in the world. Its venom contains neurotoxins and procoagulants. Bites are still quite uncommon, and given the opportunity, the Eastern Brown Snake, though reputed to be ill-tempered, will rather flee than attack.
Most of the the time too, bites are warning ones where the snake does not inject its venom. If it does, though, and if the victim is not treated rapidly and correctly, a bite is likely to be fatal. It can be found in a variety of habitats, ranging from forest to grasslands, gravelly plains and desert. The Western Brown Snake feeds on small mammals and reptiles. It is said to be less aggressive than the Eastern Brown Snake, but still remains a potentially dangerous snake.
It can inhabit mulga country, but also forests as well as grasslands and deserts. It feeds on frogs or small mammals and can reach a length of 2 to 2. This snake's venom is not extremely toxic, yet, as it injects huge quantities of it, the King Brown Snake can be quite dangerous. This snake is, actually, not a true brown snake but one of the black snake family.
Therefore, bites must be treated with black snake antivenin. A Reset font size. A Increase font size. We share our continent with about species of land snakes, some equipped with venom more toxic than any other snakes in the world.
But bites are actually quite rare in Australia and, since the development of anti-venom, fatalities have been low — between four to six deaths a year. Most bites occur when people are trying to kill a snake or show off.
Most snakes would rather slither away from humans than fight them. Receive great savings and a gift when you subscribe to our magazine. Packed full of detailed illustrations, beautiful images from the Australian Geographic image library, interesting fact files and information about what snakes eat, where they live, how they see and hear, what their eggs look like and much more! Also known as: common brown snake Found: throughout the eastern half of mainland Australia.
Fast-moving, aggressive and known for their bad temper, eastern brown snakes, together with other browns are responsible for more deaths every year in Australia than any other group of snakes. Not only is their venom ranked as the second most toxic of any land snake in the world based on tests on mice , they thrive in populated areas, particularly on farms in rural areas with mice. Its venom causes progressive paralysis and stops the blood from clotting, which may take many doses of antivenom to reverse.
Victims may collapse within a few minutes. Also known as: gwardar Found: widespread over most of mainland Australia — absent only from the wetter fringes of eastern Australia and south-western Western Australia.
Said to be less aggressive than its eastern cousin, the western brown snake is still highly dangerous and part of the group of snakes that causes the most fatalities in Australia.
Western browns tend to be fast moving and nervous in temperament. When disturbed, they will run for cover, striking quickly if cornered, then making a quick getaway. Bites are usually painless and difficult to see due to the small fang marks. Victims will experience headache, nausea, abdominal pain, severe coagulopathy blood clotting disorder and sometimes kidney damage.
Also known as : common tiger snake Found : along the south-eastern coast of Australia, from New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania and the far corner of South Australia. Mainland tiger snakes are responsible for the second-highest number of bites in Australia, as they inhabit highly populated areas along the east coast, including some metropolitan areas of Melbourne. They are attracted to farms and outer suburban houses, where they hunt mice nocturnally and can easily be trodden on by unsuspecting victims in the darkness.
Bites are fatal if untreated, causing pain in the feet and neck, tingling, numbness and sweating, followed by breathing difficulties and paralysis. The venom also damages the blood and muscles, leading to renal failure.
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