Saw a few guys out at St Georges beach yesterday but this only hit my inbox this morning.

COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Warning on Blue-ringed Octopus
August 12, 2011
The City of Greater Geraldton would like to warn the public that Blue-ringed Octopus
have been sighted coming ashore at St Georges Beach, Bluff Point, Geraldton.
The octopus are rarely more than 12 centimetres long and are well camouflaged with
yellow, brown and grey bodies, with dark brown blotches and bands on their
tentacles. They should not be touched and viewed from a distance only.
The Blue-ringed Octopus is extremely venomous with a painless bite that can cause
paralysis and in rare cases death. The octopus give a warning before they bite by
developing brilliant blue rings.
Symptoms include nausea, hazy vision and the loss of touch, speech and the ability
to swallow. There is no anti-venin available in Australia.
If bitten apply a pressure immobilisation bandage and urgently call an ambulance.

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RobL said...
Saw a few guys out at St Georges beach yesterday but this only hit my inbox this morning.
COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Warning on Blue-ringed Octopus
August 12, 2011
The City of Greater Geraldton would like to warn the public that Blue-ringed Octopus
have been sighted coming ashore at St Georges Beach, Bluff Point, Geraldton.
The octopus are rarely more than 12 centimetres long and are well camouflaged with
yellow, brown and grey bodies, with dark brown blotches and bands on their
tentacles. They should not be touched and viewed from a distance only.
The Blue-ringed Octopus is extremely venomous with a painless bite that can cause
paralysis and in rare cases death. The octopus give a warning before they bite by
developing brilliant blue rings.
Symptoms include nausea, hazy vision and the loss of touch, speech and the ability
to swallow. There is no anti-venin available in Australia.
If bitten apply a pressure immobilisation bandage and urgently call an ambulance.

Actually, the whole Ozzie coast is awash in Blue Ringed Occys, and has been since time immemorial. Very common all the way around, and much more lethal than that blurb above suggests. If you get bitten by one and there's no-one there to call for paramedics and do continuous CPR on you, you almost certainly will die.

The good news is that you have to be really unlucky to corner one and annoy it enough to get bitten. They're very shy and secretive as a rule, and they'll scarpa if they can.

When I was a deckie on a cray boat, out of Freo, we'd get a dozen or more every morning in the pots, and they were just the few that didn't slip out whilst we hauled the pots up.

oh you forgot to mention red backs, great white sharks, a few snakes of varying size and potency, the odd crock or 3 up north, funnel web spiders (ive seen a couple in wa now), a couple of killer jellyfish and a few ex girlfreinds

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RobL said...

Saw a few guys out at St Georges beach yesterday but this only hit my inbox this morning.

COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Warning on Blue-ringed Octopus
August 12, 2011
The City of Greater Geraldton would like to warn the public that Blue-ringed Octopus
have been sighted coming ashore at St Georges Beach, Bluff Point, Geraldton.
The octopus are rarely more than 12 centimetres long and are well camouflaged with
yellow, brown and grey bodies, with dark brown blotches and bands on their
tentacles. They should not be touched and viewed from a distance only.
The Blue-ringed Octopus is extremely venomous with a painless bite that can cause
paralysis and in rare cases death. The octopus give a warning before they bite by
developing brilliant blue rings.
Symptoms include nausea, hazy vision and the loss of touch, speech and the ability
to swallow. There is no anti-venin available in Australia.
If bitten apply a pressure immobilisation bandage and urgently call an ambulance.

nothin 8 hours of resuss wont fix.

Yeah dunno about the RARE chance of death

pretty much a given - the worst thing you could ever be bitten by.

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saltiest1 said...

oh you forgot to mention red backs, great white sharks, a few snakes of varying size and potency, the odd crock or 3 up north, funnel web spiders (ive seen a couple in wa now), a couple of killer jellyfish and a few ex girlfreinds

and the sarcasm, thought they didn't have that over here

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RobL said...

saltiest1 said...

oh you forgot to mention red backs, great white sharks, a few snakes of varying size and potency, the odd crock or 3 up north, funnel web spiders (ive seen a couple in wa now), a couple of killer jellyfish and a few ex girlfreinds

and the sarcasm, thought they didn't have that over here

But they are all friendly pets to us, WA dwellers!

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Mark _australia said...

the worst thing you could ever be bitten by.

except for mark
you DO NOT want to be bitten by this guy

dont forget to close your eyes once you have been bitten,(prior to total paralysis) and awaiting for a passer by to offer CPR, or the sun will burn your retinas out.....

i know a guy who knows a guy who..... anyway, he stepped on one at voodoo, kurnell. not sure if he made it.

Fk en hell tare for that one........ occassionally are sighted around the BBQs and under trees at st georges over summer

dont know what the dig deal is according to this vid they make great pets too ( NOT)

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silvec01 said...

I would not worry about them, Poor Relli has one he licks and then he sees the future.

True story.

My diving instructor had to perform CPR for 3.5 hrs on one of his mates while awaiting paramedics. The horrifying part was that for that whole time the victim could hear all the conversations going on around him but was totally paralysed to do or say anything. Luckily managed to save him.

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RobL said...

saltiest1 said...

oh you forgot to mention red backs, great white sharks, a few snakes of varying size and potency, the odd crock or 3 up north, funnel web spiders (ive seen a couple in wa now), a couple of killer jellyfish and a few ex girlfreinds

and the sarcasm, thought they didn't have that over here

and the ningaloo goat - a very dangerous creature

If you havent seen the old goat,

Here is what it looks like.

Be warned.......Keep clear of it,,,,its really gumpy.