As such, i decided the best way to tackle this uncomfortable feeling was to tackle it head on; get out there and go and find one...but i kind of didn't want to see one in the Zoo or anything, i wanted to see a wild one in the undergrowth or something. So off I trotted to go hunting... I didn't find a Jonah Lomu sized specimen, but i did uncover some other locals, so here you go.
This little beasty is a banded common garden spider and the little buggers are everywhere...and i do mean everywhere. Although this photo is a close up of one just outside the apartment I am staying in, and it looks like i've just blown the photo up, it should not be assumed that this thing's body was any smaller than about 2 1/2 inches i reckon. Legs don't really count apparently. To be honest, i didn't feel that it was necessary to get my tape measure out and get close enough to get an accurate measurement.Although harmless (to whom, exactly? because they don't look harmless to me!) - as they are neither venomous nor particularly aggressive, like most spiders they can give you a bite you'll probably know about. They're no real hassle during the day, but at night they can build webs across the footpaths and with them being black - and dark, well being black-ish too - they can be a bugger to see. Ian almost ran into one at head height on the way back from the shops. Rather him than me (sorry bud).
This one needs no introduction. A nice wee Cockatoo. This particular specimen was roaming the Botanical Gardens annoying the tourists for food.
I also tried to get some shots of the massive bats roosting that live in the Botanical Gardens' trees but they haven't come out very well. More on that later when i get some better shots.
I did get some good shots of this though, and these aren't something you see everyday, no less than on our apartment's balcony rail.
This is, as i'm sure you all know, a Praying Mantis. An hugely successful fearsome insect predator, it kils by using its front claws like pneumatic pincers to grab its pray and hold it whilst it eats it, alive. The female is also known to lose patience and eat the male and spit it out, much like we do in Human society.If you look really closely at this picture you will note that said Mantis is actually looking at me and going 'Hmmmmm' and probably sizing up whether i would indeed make a good meal, and if the bits he couldn't eat now could indeed be frozen for later.
However, discretion got the better part of valour for the little fella and he quickly strode off to find something more manageable (e.g. a cat) - please see instructive picture No.2 below, which clearly shows advanced 'scuttling away'.
Finally, i managed to get a reasonable shot of the numerous beautiful butterflies they have, which are big and plentiful. I've no idea what kind it was, as i couldn't track it down on the internet; perhaps its a new species i've discovered!
Oh, and I also found a nice view...
5 mumbles or rants about it:
Have you been watching too much David Attenborough? (or is too much sun?)
Dad
I'm glad to hear that the cannibalistic insect life in Australia is much more devout in its religious beliefs than ours.
Preying methinks, not praying.
Haha Great post!
God that spider was HUUUGEEEE!!!! Gave me the shivers did that beastie!
Fella it is widely believed that spiders can smell in that they have chemical sensor hairs on their 'feet'(Tarsus) with which they both capture chemical scent and can 'taste' their prey ...I am not sure what is more scary spiders with large hairy feet or the image of you naked and defenceless.
Post a Comment