|
People who have
never visited rainforests often think of them as dangerous
places, where deadly snakes dangle in your face, jaguars
leap out to attack you, spiders and scorpions creep into
your bed at night, and huge shoals of piranhas eat you alive
if you paddle at the edge of a river.
In truth you are
far more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a road
accident at home. Snakes are extremely alert and generally
timid, slithering off long before you have a chance to cross
their path, while attacks by jaguars, caiman and piranhas are
extremely rare.
Probably the
greatest danger is from stinging caterpillars, and from ants
and spiders, some of which can inflict an excruciatingly
painful bite. A short stroll along a rainforest track often
involves having to regularly disentangle yourself from spider webs,
many of which are occupied by decidedly scary looking inhabitants such
as the creature illustrated above. I don't know whether or
not this particular spider is venomous, but I'm glad I
didn't get bitten !
Tarantulas (
illustrated below ), are very common and often seen on
the ground, on tree trunks, or on walls. They are relatively
harmless and unlikely to bite. If threatened they rear up,
raising their front legs high in the air, while making a
hissing or stridulating sound. If this fails to deter, they
may rush forward and bite. More often though they suddenly
twirl around and flick urticating hairs into the face of the
attacker. The hairs can cause a very painful rash, and if they get into your eyes or lungs the pain can be
excruciating.
|
