From the Lounge Chair

[pinkozcat]

Drop bears are the terror of the Australian bush.

Forget about the venomous snakes, spiders, stone fish, blue-ringed octopus, sharks, crocodiles, wombats etc, the drop bear is our most deadly creature of all.

Looking a bit like a cuddly koala bear, it lurks in the branches of trees and drops onto luckless travellers who are sufficiently uninformed to pass beneath them.

Rumour has it that they eat the brains of their victims.

A thin smear of vegemite applied to the skin acts as a repellant.

www.google.com has a great deal to say about drop bears.

[Wyndham]

Pink: why am I thinking that drop bears are probably of the same species as that terror of the Canadian bush -- the super-aggressive, ultra-poisionous, snow snake?

I have in my minds eye some foreigner walking gingerly through the outback, vegemite smeared all over his head, while snickering Aussies try to sneak close enough to plant a heavy hand and a loud shriek . . .

[Nulla]

you folks couldn't me having me on, could you?.... naaahhh... it must all be true... can the drop bear then be related to the deadly jackalope?.... seems logical.... ;D

www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm

[Wyndham]

I fear Nulla that all these vile critters are related, whatever appearances might suggest. Family: bestidae. Genus: incredibilis. Species: horrendus. Sub-species: with long cruel fangs.

[wordswordswords]

Robert, I recall that my daughter was over a year old, maybe 15 months or 18 months, when I timidly introduced peanut butter to her, as part of a program of trying first one new food, than another.

She just tasted a tiny dab of peanut butter, but in minutes broke out in hives and began having breathing problems and vomiting.

As the years went by and she encountered peanuts, etc., when someone's guard was down, the reaction was always the same, though sometimes there'd be wheezing (she also had asthma), and sometimes the reaction seemed more severe than at other times.

When she was about 4 she was at a nursery school birthday party where there was a pinata, and among the items that exploded out of the pinata were some peanuts in the shell, which some of the children had handled. They were told to join hands in a circle. When my daughter came home, both hands were broken out in a rather bad rash--this was just from touching the hands of a few children who had handled a few peanuts.

Other children have actually died from this allergy. There was a case I recall reading about--a child who ate some ice cream with nuts very finely ground up in it (so he didn't know, probably, that he was eating nuts until it was too late). The child died.

If your child has a tendency to allergies, it often shows up in a high eosinophil count as part of a standard blood test. If allergies don't run on either side of the family, and your child so far hasn't shown any sign of allergies, you may have absolutely nothing to worry about.

Let's hope so! (Meanwhile, I'm going to be on the lookout for drop bears now that I know they're a possibility.)

[RobertGraves]

Kate is having a series of injections to try and deal with her allergies so Lucy has a very stong possibility of being like Mum - or maybe, if she is lucky, Dad's genes will triumph

PS I went grey prematurely so she has a lot to dodge on the gene front *LOL*

[RobertGraves]

Just returned from a trip down the South Coast. We are looking to move in the next year or three and needed to explore our options. I want to be able to walk to the beach for a swim.

Saw a massive stingray while snorkelling - very cool!

[pinkozcat]

When I used to talk to you before you had just moved to the mountains.

I live within walking distance of the ocean but never go to the beach to swim - without my glasses I can't see the sharks.

[RobertGraves]

We are keen to escape the heat of the Blue Mountains and make the move to the seaside. We have lived here for almost 4 years and that is tye second longest I have lived in a house (6 years being the record when I was a teenager). A rolling stone gathers no moss but school teachers often move around a bit I guess and we are keen to do this before Lucy starts pre-school.

Sharks are always great to sea when diving and snorkelling. It is much more dangerous driving to the beach than the actual swimming but being eaten sends understandable shivers up most folks spines.

[pinkozcat]

There have been quite a few shark attacks at my local beach and a couple of deaths from shark-bite. Some of us know never to swim in the ocean on cloudy November days and the local flying school and the governmet both provide a spotter service up and down the coast but I still prefer my own pool where the worst wildlife I'm likely to meet is the occasional skink and the total slater population of Western Australia. I am convinced that they have some lemming blood somewhere in their makeup.

[RobertGraves]

It is funny though - people's fear of sharks - no-one stays out of their car because there's been a couple of deaths on the roads. I must admit, when you see a shark while diving, it is quote scary but beautifully thrilling. You don't see them often and I have never come across species renown for their taste for human flesh.

BTW I do not drive a car due to my experiences in them. Had been in three accidents before turning 7 and some major incidents since then (never my fault) and know how blaise people are about driving. Kate does all the driving which can be inconvenient. I may have to start again (if we have those 5 daughters I'VE planned)

[pinkozcat]

Five daughters ??

I once planned to have six sons but after three daughters I decided that enough was enough. The fact that I had three babies under three may have had a lot to do with that decision but I have never regretted it - I don't think that my ex-husband would have handled a son very well and we could never decide on boys' names.

[pinkozcat]

Yeah !! I've earned myself a brownie point.

[Aravis]

I think sharks are beautiful and I admire them. However I think what makes the thought of a shark attack more frightening, at least for me, is the intent behind it.

A shark is a living creature that is deliberately causing harm; there's a consciousness behind it. Furthermore, you usually don't see it coming and stand little chance of getting away even if you do.

Cars are inanimate. They are lethal when things go wrong either due to driver error or mechanical failure. But they aren't purposefully setting out to harm you. Many times you can manoeuvre the car when you see a hazard in the road. Help is certainly more accessible in the event of an accident, and your blood isn't likely to attract other cars or start a feeding frenzy.

Finally, cars are more common and therefore more easily taken for granted. Those of us who do drive are comfortable and familiar with the beast. Sharks, on the other hand, are thankfully more rare and therefore an exotic fear, if you will.

[pinkozcat]

Sharks are protected here now so the numbers are building up.

Mostly they attack because they mistake people for seals although occasionally they attack boats and surf skis.

I don't agree with hunting down and killing the attacking shark and every time there is an attack there is discussion about whether or not the shark should be killed.

I feel that if we go into their environment then we need to be wary and realise that there is danger from sharks.

As there have been several deaths around Australia in recent years - a couple at my local beach - there has been some research done on shark repellants of various kinds and there have been suggestions that a net should be strung across the swimming area of Cottesloe Beach but it was decided that it would be too expensive and restrictive.

Now there are mobile alarms on un-manned beaches which are activated from the spotter planes. If the siren sounds you get out of the water fast !

And, of course, people should always swim between the flags which mark the patrolled area.