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Distribution of taipan snakes: Taipans are highly venomous. The common taipan is found in northern Australia and eastern coastal areas as far south as northern New South Wales. The inland taipan is found in parts of central Australia, not including the Alice Springs and Uluru area. The Papuan taipan is restricted to southern parts of New Guinea.
Venom of taipan snakes As with other venomous snakes causing snakebite in humans, taipan snakes have complex venoms with many components. Only the most important clinically are mentioned here.
Overall taipan snake venom is one of the most potent of all known snake venoms. Inland taipan venom is the most potent of all snake venoms.
Taipan snake venom contains potent presynaptic neurotoxins (toxins in venom that cause paralysis or muscle weakness). Also present are postsynaptic neurotoxins, which are less potent but more rapid acting than the presynaptic neurotoxins. Taipan snake venom also contains potent procoagulants (toxins in venom that interfere with blood clotting, causing consumption of the clotting protein, fibrinogen; this causes defibrination, with non-clottable blood, putting victims at risk of major bleeding). Taipan snake procoagulants are amongst the most powerful snake venom procoagulants known. No renal (kidney) toxins have so far been isolated from taipan snake venoms, but renal failure (kidney failure) is a possible though uncommon effect of taipan snake snakebites in humans, in cases where there is significant envenoming (envenomation). Taipan snake venom does contain myotoxins that cause myolysis (rhabdomyolysis, muscle damage), but this effect is not common and generally not very severe.
Taipan snake venom causes generally minor local effects at the snakebite site, such as mild swelling, bruising and pain and does not contain necrotoxins.
Clinical effects of taipan snake bites Taipan snakes have highly potent venom and can cause severe envenoming (envenomation) of humans. They are an uncommon cause of snakebites and occasional snakebite deaths in Australia at present, but represent a significant portion of major snakebites in coastal northern Queensland. Envenoming (envenomation) can cause defibrination coagulopathy, renal (kidney) damage or renal failure (kidney failure). They can cause neurotoxic paralysis (muscle weakness, respiratory failure), and this is common, and while clinical features of flaccid paralysis usually take several hours to become apparent, occasionally major paralysis develops within just a few hours of the bite. Bites can also cause myolysis (rhabdomyolysis, muscle damage), but this is uncommon and not usually severe.
First aid treatment First aid for taipan snake bite is the same as for other snakebites and is based on immobilising the venom at the bite site until medical treatment can be obtained. This snakebite first aid is commonly known as the pressure immobilisation bandage technique for snakebite and other forms of envenoming (envenomation). About 90% of taipan snake bites result in significant envenoming, requiring antivenom therapy, and envenoming is often severe and potentially lethal. There are occasional deaths from taipan snake bite. It is therefore essential all cases be managed as an emergency, requiring rapid application of first aid and urgent medical assessment. For those cases with systemic envenoming, which will be nearly all cases, this may develop in less than 15 minutes after the bite, and antivenom therapy is the principle treatment. In most such cases 3-4+ vials of CSL Taipan Snake Antivenom will be required intravenously to reverse the severe coagulopathy (bleeding disorder) and prevent progression of paralysis and muscle damage.
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This website provides a brief overview of information on Great White Sharks: The Great White Shark is listed as vulnerable and migratory under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
In 2002 the then Minister for the Environment and Heritage made the White Shark Recovery Plan. This Plan sets out recovery objectives and actions to achieve those objectives.
A number of recovery-targeted projects for the Great White Shark have been funded by the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT).
In 2004 the Australian Government, in cooperation with the Government of Madagascar, successfully listed the Great White Shark on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora. The listing aims to prevent the highly lucrative illegal trade in Great White Shark products such as teeth, jaws and fins. View the Great White Shark.
In 2002 the Australian Government successfully listed the Great White Shark on Appendices I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). The listing will facilitate the development of a conservation and management agreement between range states for this species.
Great White Sharks are large, rare, warm-blooded apex marine predators. It is estimated that they mature at 12-18 years for females and 8-10 years for males. Maximum length is 6.4 metres, though specimens of up to 7 metres may exist. Great White Sharks reproduce only one every two to three years and produce between two and ten pups per litter. Further information and references on the biology and ecology of the species can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
The Great White Shark is widely distributed throughout temperate and sub-tropical regions in the northern and southern hemispheres. It is most frequently found off Southern Australia, South Africa, northern California and the north-eastern United States. In Australian waters the Great White Shark's range extends primarily from southern Queensland, around the southern coastline and to the North West Cape in Western Australia. Further information and references on the distribution of this species can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
Despite a general scarcity of data on the Great White Shark's population size, there appears to be an overall, long-term decline in abundance of Great White Sharks in Australian waters. Globally, there has been a reported decline of between 60-95% in Great White Shark numbers in the last 50 years. Detailed information and references on the population status and trends of the species can be found in Australia and Madagascar's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II nomination.
The main threats faced by Great White Sharks in Australian waters include interactions with commercial and recreational fisheries, shark control activities, trade, tourism and tag and release activities. Detailed information and references on these threats can be found in the White Shark Recovery Plan.
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The Australian box jellyfish is found in the tropical oceans around northern Australia. Their habitat extends as far south as Exmouth on the west coast, and Bustard Heads on the east coast (just north of Agnes Waters). Chironex fleckeri is also present in the waters of the Indo-Pacific region near Papua New Guinea, the Phillipines and Vietnam. Their exact distribution hasn't been determined yet.
Box Jellyfish like to hang around river mouths, estuaries and creeks, especially after rain. When the tide is rising they tend to move towards shallower waters. What they don't like are deep waters and rough seas. They are also absent over coral reefs, and over areas that have lots of seagrass or weed.
In late summer the adult jellyfish spawn at the river mouths. The eggs, once fertilised, turn into tiny polyps that attach themselves to rocks where they develop until next spring. Spring sees the polyps turn into tiny jellyfish that are washed downstream with the summer rains.
Box Jellyfish eat small fish and crustaceans. If you picture a tiny jellyfish struggling with a shrimp you may imagine how easy it would be for the shrimp to tear the jellyfish. That's why the jellyfish developed that very potent venom, they need to kill the shrimp instantly...
It's hard to give a general answer as to when exactly the stinger season starts and ends, the general rule says wet season is stinger season, and that's from October/November to April/May.
Closer to the equator they are found earlier in the year than in the tropics. Smaller stingers appear every year in Darwin in August! They are only half the size of the large ones found in Queensland, and nobody knows why.
The largest specimen are usually found towards the end of the season, but for no particular reason in some years there may be large specimen in some locations early in the season.
You also can't count on the season ending in April/May. Especially in the southern parts you may encounter stingers well into June.
Box Jellyfish stings have been reported in all months in the Northern Territory, and in all months but June and July in Queensland!
The Chironex fleckeri venom is so potent that in severe cases victims can quickly go into cardiac arrest! If that's the case obviously CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) takes priority over everything else.
Luckily it's not always that bad. It depends where the tentacles touched (across the chest is obviously a lot more dangerous than on the ankle), and how much venom was released.
Usually the most important thing to do first is to inactivate the remaining stinging cells. This should be done by pouring normal vinegar over the tentacles (soak for at least 30 seconds). Only then can the tentacles be removed, otherwise you will cause more venom to be released.
Many popular Australian beaches where box jellyfish are present will even have a bottle of vinegar stored on the beach next to the warning signs. Ordinary vinegar has saved dozens of lives of unfortunate swimmers and there is no other first aid remedy that is recommended, despite what you may read elsewhere (methylated spirits, ammonia, urine, bicarbonate soda and what not...). A bottle of vinegar is certainly a useful addition to your first aid kit.
In mild cases the effects of the venom can be managed with ice, painkillers and antihistamins. More serious cases will likely require treatment of the systemic symptoms, and that means antivenin. All ambulances, hospitals and medical centres in box jellyfish areas will carry the antivenin, as in serious cases it needs to be given within minutes! Early administration of the antivenom can relieve the pain and may also reduce scarring.
The need for antivenom is indicated by cardio-respiratory arrest (obviously, but then it's often too late to reverse the effects of the venom), irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing or swallowing and by extensive skin damage (which indicates the release of a great amount of venom).
If there is no help nearby then a pressure immobilisation bandage should be applied and the patient transported to the next medical centre as quickly as possible.
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sources: Wiki Commons,