A tale fo my UK friends about nasty bighties

[ffiill]

Once saw one in the Noosa River where they do occur although hide well away.Also on Noosa main beach inside the nets I watched several tidler sharks(20cms ish) up in the shallows amongst the happy swimmers.
Best tale however came from someone I worked with.
Back at the turn of the 60s he became a £10 Pom and as a time served electrician his first job was wiring up the then new iron ore town of Dampier in Western Australia.
After work him and his mates used to walk to the end of the new iron ore jetty,strip off and dive in!
Then in the early 1980s David Attenboroughs Live on Earth was screened here in the UK wence he had returned and he found out just was in the water-Box Jellies,White Sharks and salt water crocs.

 

[zoidberg]

Locusts are a very good source of protein, lightly fried in garlic butter.

As are Mopane worms.

Each to his own, I s'pose, but I prefer a good kudu steak, chips, and a decent Roodeberg red.

 

[William_H]

My this little story went in an unexpected direction. I had no choice at the time because SHMBO developed an instant phobia for the little guy. Yes I could have let him go. However with so many kids playing in the water here and forecast possible record hot for November day today (over 40) I certainly think it lucky I found the snorkel and not some kid. It was in about 1 metre of water. ol'will

 

[Crinan12]

Vegan warrior are we? He did the right thing.

Never understand why vegans get it tight from some folk.

 

[Aeolus]

Vegan warrior are we? He did the right thing.

Never understand why vegans get it tight from some folk.

I'm not bothered when people say silly things about veganism. I suspect it either comes from some deep rooted insecurity or else it's from the consumption of too many growth enhancers in all that red meat.

 

[Crinan12]

Yeah I just find it an odd one though. Caring about animal welfare, the environment, maybe health benefits - not sure what folk have against it, even if it's not for them personally.

 

[Daydream believer]

Never understand why vegans get it tight from some folk.

I'm not bothered when people say silly things about veganism. I suspect it either comes from some deep rooted insecurity or else it's from the consumption of too many growth enhancers in all that red meat.

I'm not bothered when people say silly things about meat eaters. I suspect it either comes from some deep rooted insecurity or else it's from the consumption of too much grass.

 

[Aeolus]

Yeah I just find it an odd one though. Caring about animal welfare, the environment, maybe health benefits - not sure what folk have against it, even if it's not for them personally.

I guess some people find such ideas a threat to their sense of identity, maybe to their virility.

 

[Stemar]

Maybe it's that most of the vegans I've met were obnoxious about it.

Not all, and the non-obnoxious ones are welcome at my table, where I'll provide vegan fare for them, but I'd happily feed the PETA PITAs to William's octopus.

 

[JumbleDuck]

If locusts have no positive benefits for example, then yes, begone.

It's also possible to want to eliminate some <insert creatures here> but not eradicate the entire species. For example, I kill wasps nests without a qualm when I find them around my house or workshop but I recognize that they are ecologically useful. NIMBY, quite literally.

 

[JumbleDuck]

In these parts, he would be doing us a favour if he had a pack of bloodhounds & they were allowed to do what they were trained to do- Clear the area of vermin.

I never quite understood how the "foxes are vermin" argument in favour of hunting was to supposed to sit alongside "farmers will no longer maintain coverts to ensure a supply of foxes for hunting" argument against a ban.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Never understand why vegans get it tight from some folk.

It's the proselytising. Nobody cares about vegans who keep it to themselves.

 

[Crinan12]

Yeah I get that can be annoying
But it's not just the proselytizing in my opinion, vegans are quite often mocked a bit, whereas if someone was campaigning for say better animal welfare rights they generally wouldn't be, it's just a quirk I find a bit strange
It's just in my experience of course

 

[Skylark]

I have found that most UK people will be well aware of all the bighties that can kill you in Oz.
.

The problem with Oz and other “exotic and idyllic” locations is that they are usually home to besties, hell bent upon inflicting harm to us, the apex predator.

Many years ago I was diving in the exotic and idyllic Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Overnight, a two-tone brown centipede had sought shelter for the night in my wet boot. He was not impressed the following morning when I tried to put my foot up his bum so he duly bit me. I fairly shortly thereafter had what I can only describe as an out of body experience as I lapsed into anaphylactic shock. I spend an unpleasant couple of days in a Mission hospital on the island of Havlock.

All of a sudden, Great Yarmouth has great appeal

 

[laika]

And just made rarer, thanks to your act of destruction. Seriously, what gives you the right to destroy another living thing for no reason?

As has been noted, the blue ringed octopus is not endangered. I sympathise with your wider point but please understand ol'will's dilemma: this is a deadly, with no under-emphasis on deadly, non-endangered critter in an area where people swim. I once caught a scorpion in my room, took it outside and let it loose, then worried for days in case a kid then got stung by it. This is not in the same category as killing animals for fun. I say that as someone who feels unreasonable revulsion towards those who engage in those activities.

Then in the early 1980s David Attenboroughs Live on Earth was screened here in the UK wence he had returned and he found out just was in the water-Box Jellies,White Sharks and salt water crocs.

Having spent some time in Broome this year...that's only apparently an issue in the wet season (and I'm still here to tell the tale). It did prompt some research into the question of "who would win in a fight between a great white and a salt water crocodile?"

 

[rogerthebodger]

The problem with Oz and other “exotic and idyllic” locations is that they are usually home to besties, hell bent upon inflicting harm to us, the apex predator.

Many years ago I was diving in the exotic and idyllic Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Overnight, a two-tone brown centipede had sought shelter for the night in my wet boot. He was not impressed the following morning when I tried to put my foot up his bum so he duly bit me. I fairly shortly thereafter had what I can only describe as an out of body experience as I lapsed into anaphylactic shock. I spend an unpleasant couple of days in a Mission hospital on the island of Havlock.

All of a sudden, Great Yarmouth has great appeal

Sorry I must disagree.
Most are either just trying to defend themselves from what they perceive as being attacked. The brown centipede found a nice protective home then some one tried to squash him. You would do the same.

The other thing is the besties just need to eat to sustain themselves, Just like you.

Most predities do not target us just need some food and we are it.

 

[Resolution]

The blue ringed octopus may be unusual where the OP lives and in that sense "rare", but it is not endangered.

http://legacy.earlham.edu/~sheedjo/blue-ringedoctopus.htm

I particularly liked the line
the blue-ringed octopus .......... advertises its toxicity by changing to iridescent colors when aggravated.
Just like some of the contributors here?:encouragement:

 

[[163233]]

Presumably a vegetarian can still kill an animal for fun anyway, just not eat it?

 

[ryanroberts]

It's the proselytising. Nobody cares about vegans who keep it to themselves.

I grew up in a hippie smallholding family in the late 70's early 80's, we were veggie but I remember vegan / health food of that era. It was just awful, lentil pasties with pastry like cracking open a turtle full of poo, drinking algae for amino acids. I think a large part of the reason for its increased popularity is (sort of ironically given the ideological cluster it mostly sits in) the application of industrial food technology and exotic ingredients to make it palatable. I'm waiting for the inevitable documentary with miserable looking orangutans due to jackfruit farming or simlar.

 

[myquest]

Presumably a vegetarian can still kill an animal for fun anyway, just not eat it?

To eat it he would have to bite it. We are supposedly discussing bights! All sounds a bit loopy to me!