Things that might kill me in Australia...

It was the ongoing joke when I told people we were moving to Australia last year... "You better watch out, do you know how many things can kill you there?!" A few of my favorite memes to commemorate the stereotype many Americans have of Australia...

And for my former co-workers and all of our Snapple lunch quizzes...

Thankfully, we have made it over nine months and I am happy to report we haven't even had any close encounters. Let's hope that trend continues. And up until now I chose to remain in the dark about what exactly all those deadly things were. I thought if I did too much research then I would just find myself more stressed out about the ridiculously small chance of encountering any of these animals and insects. I recently however had a change of sentiment and thought with two young children perhaps I should be better educated. It also didn't help when a friend shared an article of an unexpected cause of death in Australia, the cold. Yes, I know this is absolutely ridiculous, but true. Just read this article about the "glorified tents" they call houses here and how there are more cold than hot weather related deaths here, and more cold related deaths here than Sweden.

Anyways, back to the whole dangerous animal and insect thing. There are a lot here, some which concern me more than others. When I think too much about it, it pretty much makes me never want to go swimming, go bush walking, put on a shoe or reach into a dark closet. Take a look at the top ten here for photos and descriptions, but here's a quick look at what makes the list:

1. Box jellyfish
2. Honey bee
3. Irukandji jellyfish
4. Bullshark (not a bullshark, but this shark provides a pretty good warning to all of us)
5. Eastern brown snake
6. Saltwater crocodile
7. Sydney funnel web spider
8. Blue-ringed octopus
9. Coastal taipan
10. Common death adder (what type of name is this?)

I find it especially disconcerting that most of Sydney's north shore (right where we live) is a favorite spot of the appropriately named Sydney funnel web spider. Luckily there have been no reported deaths due to this spider since 1981 when an antivenom was created, I hope I'm not the one to test the streak.

Poisonous animals and insects aside, there are still plenty of other creatures that don't make my list of "Reasons I love living in Australia." While I have gotten a bit more used to the occasional "Sydney roach," I do my best to reduce the possibility I find them in my house, which is as I've been informed going to be impossible no matter what. And the massively large spiders that exist in this country (even those that aren't venomous) I just find unnerving. I about jumped out of my skin when I nearly brushed up against this guy on the corner of a building:

At least I didn't panic as much as this man did, but I wouldn't put it past me in the future. And while I have gently nudged one or two tiny geckos out of our house, I'm just glad I haven't had this problem:

And this has nothing to do with animals or insects, but do I need to be concerned about entrapment (hopefully not death) by the "hairy panic" here as well?

That does bring up the more legitimate concern over bush fires here and the huge risk they run to many people in this country. And probably the top, truly most serious concern I should really have with young children here, melanoma. There literally is a hole in the ozone and children are required by law to wear a hat outside at school.

Thankfully there are so many wonderful creatures in this country as well, so I'll leave you with one of my recent favorite findings. Seriously, how cute is this kangaroo?