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Yeah.
It drowns the odd whale or dolphin.
It's the fact that most of the sharkmeshed areas are also shallow sloped beaches that catches so many of them though (can't get a good sonar return, so they keep swimming up). Also why they beach up there as well.

Stops (mostly) people getting chewed up by shaaaaarks though. 'Course, most of them just go and get themselves taken by crocs instead, but you can't save them all.

Emperors Faithful wrote:Guess what?
I switch off Dakka and try to get some study time done. About 15 min into it I hear my teo Jack Russels yipping, then barking like crazy, then screaming. A goanna had made it's way into our yard and by the time I got outside there was a whole mess of fangs and fur. The guy (Jack Jack) seemed to be enjoying himself, despite having a bloody (and I mean bloody) nose. The girl (Jill Jill) however, was not so lucky. Apparently the goanna cuaght her a good blow and tore her leg up. I could see muscle and every thing. I had to drag the two dogs away from it, and it walked off, pissed but unharmed.

We rushed them to the vet, and the muscle repair and surgery is going to cost upwards $450AUS. I return home covered in blood from carrying the dogs and trying to stuanch the flow. When did this happen? About 30 minitues ago.

Yikes. At least it was only one of them.

Imagine if they moved in packs like coyotes... you wouldn't even hear the howling before you heard the neighborhood pets being torn to shreds...

I generally avoid the beach anyway. Not scared, just completely and utterly over it. You try working on an oyster farms for ten years with the mud, sand, mangroves, sandflies, mozzies and stingrays, little bloody fish that sting you when you accidentally touch them... crabs are great though. I bothered them more than they bothered me.

I was hit by a stingray once... and it was bloody horrible. The barb went through over a centimetre of hardened rubber compound at the upper heel of the waders I was wearing when I made the mistake of stepping on its head, then about as far again into the back of my foot. There is a certain logistical problem with removing one's foot from a rubber boot when it is held in place with a neurotoxin-filled bony spear.



This is not a stingray. It is a 'skate'
(this is a random google pic and I have no idea who that guy is). It does not have a sting - me and my mate would catch 'em by the tail and lob them at each other, usually when one or the other's back was turned. Even funnier was shouting 'oy!' at the last second so that they would turn and actually see the flying ray before it wrapped itself around their head.

Port Jackson sharks are great fun to shoot people with while diving.

You grab the little ones with both hands. One hand near the tail, one behind the pectoral fins AND turn them upside down. They go very still.

Here's the fun part. They right themselves and swim in a dead straight line after being released. So you grab them, turn upside down and aim at the back of another diver's head, then release.

They are shellfish eaters (no teeth, just bony plates for grinding) so they won't bite. It's like a living game of rubberband wars.

Never try it with a wobbegong, though. Those little fethers can bite their own tails - and they lock their jaws when they do so.

I've hand-fished those, but I'd never heard you could do that...

So, we Australians have monster sharks, and killer snakes and skates that wrap themselves around peoples faces; what exactly do you Yankees have?

They have texans..

No, I think Boss was only asking about the US.

I say one thing; Photoshop. The shark in the picture is still alive. I'll believe when I see the damn thing's carcass on the shore.

Tim the Biovore wrote:I say one thing; Photoshop. The shark in the picture is still alive. I'll believe when I see the damn thing's carcass on the shore.

Dang, you beat me too it. I read the whople thread not believing that no one called shenanigans, and then there it is.

If you look at the head of the shark , it's obviuosly a different shark then the body. Different shade of grey and evrything.

GG

The article said that the shark was still alive but dying when they got it onto the boat.

The point is, when you see a photo like this


You know there are some big mother fething sharks around.

Kanluwen wrote:...
I want to saddle the monster shark up and ride him to glory.

While firing lasers from his head.

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

This is a vision worthy of a prophet. Go forth young man go forth!


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Whats a goanna? (sp?)

It's a ridiculously big lizard, with a bad temper and a nasty bite.

Frazzled wrote:Whats a goanna? (sp?)

One of the more harmless animals.

Wikipedia wrote:Goanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.

There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia. They are a varied group of carnivorous reptiles that range greatly in size and fill several ecological niches.

The Goanna features prominently in Aboriginal mythology and Australian folklore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goanna


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Wikipedia also wrote:Like most native fauna, goannas are rather wary of human intrusions into their habitat, and will most likely run away (into the scrub, up a tree, or into the water, depending on the species). A goanna is a rather swift mover, and when pressed will sprint short distances on its hind legs.

Goannas also rear up when threatened, either chased or cornered, and also inflate flaps of skin around their throats and emit a harsh hissing noise.

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But, harmless only means that it might be poisionous.

Wikipedia again wrote:The debate on whether goannas are venomous or not is growing. Previously it was thought that incessant bleeding caused by goanna-bites was the result of bacterial infection. Recent studies suggest that monitor lizards (including goannas) are venomous and have oral toxin-producing glands.[/url]

Monitor lizards, they are all smart and quick buggers.

One of the aussie ones (the perentie) is second largest after the komodo dragon (which is the largest of the monitors).

Smart and mean and they have a tail lash attack, claw attacks and a very nasty bite.

Also sometimes, according to Wikipedia at least, they can mistake people for trees and try to climb you to get away.

Jimi Nemesis wrote:

It's a ridiculously big lizard, with a bad temper and a nasty bite.

Oh man I want one as a pet!!!

Although inguanas are way cool. On my honeymoon, sitting by the bay, sipping tequila and an iguana climbed up and sunned himself on the arm of my chair.
Here's iguana Bob, walking his human.

Frazzled wrote:

Jimi Nemesis wrote:

It's a ridiculously big lizard, with a bad temper and a nasty bite.

Oh man I want one as a pet!!!

Although inguanas are way cool. On my honeymoon, sitting by the bay, sipping tequila and an iguana climbed up and sunned himself on the arm of my chair.
Here's iguana Bob, walking his human.

Iguanas. Around since Frazzled's honeymoon, Cretaceous Era

Iguanas. Around since Frazzled's honeymoon, Cretaceous Era

you young whippersnappers-Triassic baby, so old they hadn't even invented color Real Life (TM). Triassic rules, cretaceous drools.

Monitor lizards (that Oz folk call Goannas) are very distinct from Ig-uanas which are new world lizards principally.

Monitors have a very mobile neck and head and are way smarter, they are like scaly mammals and they can run incredibly fast. Very high metabolic rate in monitors, low in iggys.

Iguanas are also plant eaters, from what I recall. Some folks in South America raise and eat them like chickens. They've been on the rise in South Florida, and if you live on a canal you're likely to see a few climbing into your backyard from time to time. They love hibiscus flowers and are not intelligent or vicious animals.

Gitzbitah wrote:Iguanas are also plant eaters, from what I recall. Some folks in South America raise and eat them like chickens. They've been on the rise in South Florida, and if you live on a canal you're likely to see a few climbing into your backyard from time to time. They love hibiscus flowers and are not intelligent or vicious animals.

Very true. They are much more safe around weiner dogs.

Why can I see Frazzled raising an army of goannas?

And then arming them with claymore dispensers on the tails?

...in fact, I'm going to beat him to it.

Even our pigs are epic.

Pshaw Waaagh. We here in the states have what is effectively being called "Superhogs". They're shrouded in mystery, myths, and fat. Reports have 'em at the size of a VW bug.

And Koalas aren't actually all that cuddly:

Waaagh_Gonads wrote:Even our pigs are epic.

THATS NOT A PIG THATS MY MOTHER IN LAW!!! Oh wait, er never mind.


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Kanluwen wrote:Why can I see Frazzled raising an army of goannas?

And then arming them with claymore dispensers on the tails?

...in fact, I'm going to beat him to it.

Any army of goannas that has claymore dispensers in the tail has a lot going for it.

Of course Koalas have sharp claws. They're arboreal animals, most arboreal critters have some sharp claws for scaling/remaining attached to the trees.

Hell, sloths have some pretty vicious looking ones but are so adorably cuddly.

Except for the whole being covered in scum thing.

Kanluwen wrote:Pshaw Waaagh. We here in the states have what is effectively being called "Superhogs". They're shrouded in mystery, myths, and fat. Reports have 'em at the size of a VW bug.

Yeah, well reports have you telling porky pies....

Look up or a drop bear will kill you.

AH DROP BEAR! *runs*

But yeah, "superhogs". They're just one of those things that have been reported frequently, but still waiting for really extensive scientific proofing.