The Great White Shark

The Great White Shark
can weigh as much as 2,600kg and be up to 6 metres in length. That's definitely something you don't want to see whilst out swimming. All sharks have an extra sense too. It enables them to detect electromagnetic fields that are emitted by the movement of living animals.

Don't be put off going for a swim as this is an important past-time that you should do as part of your Australian holiday. It's true that there are sharks in Australian waters but its rare that they come up into the bays where there are swimmers. There are some precautions that you should take though. Don't swim at dusk or dawn as this is when sharks tend to be out feeding. Stay away from schools of fish and don't venture too far out. Don't swim if you have an open cut that is bleeding.

It's true that over recent years there has been a slight increase in shark attacks although no-one has actually died. Experts can't seem to agree why this may be but it is believed to be due to an algae that is now in our waters as well as the fact that our waters are getting cleaner. Both these factors could be bringing sharks further into our bays.

Strange Facts About Not So Weird Animals

Strange Facts About Not So Weird Animals
The third largest land mammal in the world, the hippopotamus (smaller only to the elephant and rhinoceros), spends a good deal of time in the water and adults are able to remain in it without breathing for about 25 to 30 minutes! Also peculiar is that these large beasts can actually sleep underwater and need not be conscious to keep breathing or to come up for air. The breathing process is automatic so that an underwater sleeping hippopotamus will rise to the surface to intake air and go back down under without waking up. They are also one of the few mammals to birth under water. Famous for sticking parts of their heads above water while the rest is under, hippos are able to launch sounds that travel simultaneously in water and in air to communicate with other hippopotamus.

Dangerous Australian Animals

Dangerous Australian Animals
This handsome devil looks like a spider you might find in a joke shop. It's black and fairly glossy. There is a species of this called the Sydney Funnel Web because it is found in and around Sydney. They like to create little burrows and could be found anywhere from garages, garden rockeries, or near swimming pools (they like water)

The safest thing to do is to keep away from any spider you see in Australia. The reality is most of them are totally harmless. They may however be a bit bigger than what you are used to. The funnel web spider will rise up onto its back legs and show you his fangs if he is about to bite you. That's when you should run!

Even if the funnel web spider does bite you, there is a 1 in 4 chance that it will inject any venom. If there is venom in the bite, you are likely to feel pain instantly and you should get yourself to hospital for anti venom as soon as you can. You need to stop the venom from spreading around your body.

Australia's Weird Animals

Australia's Weird Animals

Australia's Weird Animals
Of all the places on Earth I think that Australia and the islands around Australia have the largest collection of freaky weird animals that you will ever see. It seems though that the vast majority of these weird animals in Australia are marsupials for some reason.

One of the most recognizable of these weird marsupials is the kangaroo. This national symbol of Australia is found not only on the Australian coat of arms, but also on it's currency as well. There are four main types of kangaroo the red kangaroo, eastern gray kangaroo, western gray kangaroo, and the antilopine kangaroo. Out of these four types of kangaroo it is the red kangaroo that is the largest. Some of the largest red kangaroos have reached heights of 6 foot 7 inches tall and weighed in at over 200 pounds.

in the early days of European exploration many tales of these magnificent creatures were merely dismissed as just made up tales by the returning sailors and explorers. It is fairly easy to understand why when you hear how these early explorers described the kangaroo when they got back home. The kangaroo was described as having a head similar to a deer, but stood upright on two legs like a man, and then hopped away like a frog. If that wasn't enough to make you start thinking that you were being told a tall tale there was also the two headed appearance of the mothers while carrying their young in their pouches. I think if someone told me of such strange creature back in the 1700's I probably would not believe them either!

Another weird animal from Australia that actually used to prey on the kangaroo is the now extinct Tasmanian tiger. The Tasmanian tiger also know as the Tasmanian wolf or it's scientific name Thylacine was definitely a a weird looking creature. The look very similar to a funny looking wolf or dog but stripes from the shoulder to the base of the tail that are similar to the stripes of a tiger. Although these creatures were called the Tasmanian tiger or wolf they were in all actuality a type of marsupial just like the kangaroo and the koala bear.

Unfortunately these creatures were hunted to extinction with the last captive Tasmanian tiger dieing in captivity at the London Zoo in 1931. Although since that time there have been an ever increasing amount of reports of people seeing these extinct creatures.

Stray Animal Dangers

Stray Animal Dangers
If you ever encounter a stray animal, you may experience a range of emotions. Animal lovers may instinctively wish to help the stray, while other people may simply wish to distance themselves from a potentially dangerous situation. Strays may carry dangerous, contagious diseases, or may react aggressively out of fear. Others may be friendly and looking for a home. Regardless, it is smart to remain cautious and consider your own safety and that of others before ever approaching an unfamiliar animal.

If you do decide to approach a stray, or if you accidentally find yourself in the vicinity, it is important to keep your own safety in mind. Remember that scared, sick, and injured animals may act strangely out of fear, and may growl, snarl, attack, or even run away into greater danger in the middle of the street. If an animal looks threatening or acts strangely, do not approach.

Strange Animals Trivia

Strange Animals Trivia
There are 10 varieties of armadillo ranging from the giant armadillo, which grows to about 40 inches to the Pink Fairy Armadillo, which only grows to about 5 inches. Unlike many species of animals, the armadillo population is on the rise. They do not seem to be bothered by human encroachment and their natural enemies have been on the decrease. They are excellent diggers and live in an underground world of burrows. Their only real method of defense is their 'armor', which is actually plates or scales made of bone covered by horn. When threatened they will roll up into a ball to ensure that their soft underside is not exposed. Other types of armadillos who are physically unable to roll into a ball will either run away or try to dig to safety.

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Strange Footprints in the Forest

Strange Footprints in the Forest
Many years ago my hubby and I were out hiking with a friend through a part of the Daniel Boone National Forest in the north eastern part of Kentucky. It was a really beautiful late Spring day when we were all wandering through looking at the various species of plant life, and occasionally getting a glimpse of some animal life in the area.

Let me give you an idea of this history of Kentucky before I go any further with my story. First of all, the name Kentucky comes from at least a couple of native American Indian dialects. Can-tuck, or Can-tuck-ke, which means "the Dark and Bloody Ground". NO native tribes ever lived in the Dark and Bloody ground. This is/was the land where spirits and super-natural creatures dwelt.

Of course, when the Europeans came, all they saw was a very fertile and abundant land rich in natural resources and dismissed the various legends as superstitious nonsense. The various tribes that lived in the surrounding areas, that would later become the states of Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and Missouri, would hunt and gather in the area, but they would not live there.

Now, back to my tale. We were meandering through this particular area spending the day leisurely taking rest breaks, chatting about various happenings going on in the world and our everyday lives, and stopping to have our packed picnic lunch. We would occasionally come across raccoon tracks, deer tracks, and various bird tracks in the muddy areas as we hiked. As we spent the day meandering down the Sheltowee trail, and occasionally stepping off for a break, or to check out a plant or item of interest we would notice, we encountered nothing unseemly or out of the ordinary, until we headed back that is.

As the day progressed to well past the noon hour and began to make it's way towards setting we decided to head back towards our vehicles while we still had about 4 hours of sun and day light left. We made our way back along the path we had walked and about a mile or so from the parking area we came across some tracks that were quite out of the ordinary. So, we began to look closely at them and follow them.

Our friend, who I'll refer to from this point on as C., had some experience with tracking and knew about every track that could be made by the wildlife in the area as he had spent a few years working for the Forestry service. He'd never seen anything like these before. And, since we had spent quite a lot of time camping and hiking ourselves making sure to have field guides for identification purposes most of the time we knew a lot of the types of animal tracks too. we were as stumped as he was.

The tracks were huge hoof prints, much bigger than a deer could make. They were bigger than either C.'s hand, my hand, or my husband's hand with C. having the largest hands of the three of us. The tracks were very deeply embedded into the ground, over an inch deep. And, the pattern of the hoof prints was very odd because while they were made by an animal that had quite obviously been running through the muddy area, and the soft ground, they weren't leaving the usual pattern made by a four legged creature. The further we followed the tracks the more obvious the evidence in front of our eyes became, however unlikely or incredible it seemed. The tracks were being made by something running on TWO legs. The tracks weren't there when we passed through earlier on our hike either, so they were very fresh.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I realized what this meant, and apparently the same thought had occurred to my hubby and our friend - this thing could still be very close. We had spent around an hour or so following these tracks trying to figure our what had left such big, deeply embedded, tracks in the ground and now we were thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. The evidence showed that whatever had made these tracks was very big, and probably weighed well over 200 lbs. Now, our precious daylight was waning and we had wandered away from the main trail for about a distance of a mile. We all decided to show a quick set of heels and made for the parking area and our cars.

For next several days we discussed our little adventure. My husband I are well educated in the "myths" and legends of classical history, and the rural history of Kentucky, and we pondered, read, and discussed about just what could have made such tracks. We found no descriptions of normal animals that could have made such tracks.

So, what made these tracks? We knew from legend and tales of such a creature that could have left such tracks, but saytrs aren't suppose to exist - are they?