Bonus fun facts on poisonous animals (not birds!!!)

I had so much fun writing the previous article on poisonous birds, I thought it would be cool to add some fun facts on other, poisonous, animals!

The Box Jellyfish, the Blue-ringed Octopus, even the freaking tiny and unassuming Cone Snail: many animals are regarded as the most poisonous in the world.

Image credit: AskNature. The feathers and skin of the Black Pitohui birds are poisonous! The poison is thought to repel predators and parasites.

What do you think the world’s most poisonous animal is?

The answer is:

A toxic boss!!!!!!!!

They are super poisonous!!

I’m kidding! (But not really. If you do somehow find yourself in a toxic work environment, I sincerely hope you find the courage to leave this abusive situation, and work for someone else that respects and values you! You are a kind, smart and important person and you deserve kindness in your life.)

Anyway, we previously learnt about poisonous birds, like the Spur-winged Goose, and the Hooded Pitohui.

One of the world’s most poisonous animals: the Blue-ringed Octopus!

These creatures are capable of producing one of the strongest toxins in the world, the tetrodotoxin. This is a strong, fast-acting toxin that paralyses the target by blocking the nerves from transmitting messages. This toxin can totally fatal - for both fishies in the ocean and the unsuspecting human beach-goer.

Image credit: ZuBlu Diving. The Blue-ringed Octopus spends most of its life hidden away in the reef's nooks and crannies, emerging mostly to hunt. While this animal could potentially take down prey far larger than itself thanks to its powerful neurotoxin, it prefers a diet of tiny crabs and shrimp, with the occasional fish thrown in. Just like other full-sized octopus species, mating is a brief affair lacking in romance. The female blue-ring mates just once in her lifetime, starving to death slowly in her cave while she protects and aerates her clutch of eggs, ensuring the next generation's survival. 

However, the number of actual fatalities linked to the Blue-ringed Octopus is actually super low. There have only been 3 known deaths (two in Australia, and one in Singapore!) and many more people have been bitten but survived.

The scariest thing? The paralysis that overcomes the victim is only to their voluntary muscles; victims actually remain fully conscious.

Death usually only occurs because the muscles begin to fail and the victim can no longer breath. Essentially, they suffocate to death - which I hear is a nasty way to go. (I wouldn’t know, though, because I’ve never died before.)

If you ever find yourself in a scenario where you get bitten by a Blue-ringed Octopus, you’ll survive if someone finds it within their kind soul to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation until you fully recover.

And, Blue-ringed Octopuses are not known to be aggressive! They try to avoid confrontation by flattening their bodies. You are only likely to get bitten if you step on them or provoke them. And I guess if you do do that, you kind of deserve the octopus bite…

Anyway, there’s really nothing to be afraid of. Deaths due to a Blue-ringed Octopus are extremely rare because, unlike spiders and snakes, humans have very limited contact with this poisonous sucker!

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons. A group of Box Jellyfish. Their venom is among the most deadly in the world, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells.

That’s all for today’s article on non-bird fun facts. Thanks for reading, and I hope you learnt something new today!