I seriously don’t get it. Yes we have some weird and wonderful creatures but you all have bears and mountain lions and other massive mammal predators. They are way more terrifying to me than a big spider or a cranky bird.

31 comments

  2. Fear of the unknown. People are scared of things they’ve never seen or heard of.

  4. I couldn’t be scared as an Australian due to not being Australian… problematic question phrasing. Perhaps you could ask an Aussie sub.

  5. We’re used to ours, but not to yours. In the same way, you’re used to yours, but not to ours. The unfamiliarity breeds fear.

  6. Most people don’t ever encounter mountain lions or bears (though hilariously there’s a momma bear and two cubs living somewhere in my neighborhood and just got photographed by my neighbor this morning).

    It’s mostly an internet trope. Aussies like to talk up their wildlife and Americans like to exaggerate it. Mostly it’s just joking.

    Honestly tourists in Maine get more afraid of our wildlife than they should be. Pretty much every animal here wants nothing to do with you.

    Worst I have had to do is slowly back away from a bull moose or take in the bird feeders because we have bears somewhere in the neighborhood.

  7. May be is not how big Animals are in Australia but how Venomous they seem to be is what makes Americans so scared and concerned, but those big spiders are nighmare fuel

  8. I lived in Sydney for 5 years, in those 5 years we killed 7 funnel webs.

    Anything I deal with in the US either has easy ways for me to avoid (Not going into it’s territory, can spot it from literally miles away, or is not aggressive to humans).

    Funnel webs are sneaky, (relatively) tiny, aggressive fuckers!

    I’ve spent the majority of my life living in the US and I’ve not seen a single one of our most poisonous creatures.

  9. Some of your animals are scary, such as Hunstsman spiders and snakes, but some are adorable, such as quokkas and koalas.

  10. One. Don’t tell me what I’m afraid of. Fucking spiders might be bros, but I hate them and the only thing that freaks me out more are shipwrecks.

    Also come one, I’ve seen those videos of Kangaroos in residential areas… it’s like a horror movie where the killer refuses to hide themselves.

    Lastly, I’m used to my weird ass animals. Except the Star Nosed Mole. Fuck that thing.

  11. Most people have never had an encounter with a large predator. Mountain lions are rare, regional and don’t like people. Black bears are basically overgrown racoons and mostly speak easy. Brown bears don’t overlap with humans much.

    The scariest things, by any count of encounters or injuries, are deer and regionally elk or moose.

    On the other hand, people are constantly posting up vids of people encountering y’all’s snakes and bigass spiders and such in their homes which is a whole different version of the label invasive species.

    All that said, it’s mostly just a meme and a lot of joking. People *are* squicked out a bit about the idea of running into a giant spider chilling in their house, but then they crank it up to 11 to make a joke of it.

  13. We aren’t. All that said you are way more likely to get bitten by a snake or a spider than you are a mauled by a bear, and you have basically no chance of having a dangerous encounter with a mountain lion. That said about snakes and spiders, we have those too they are just regional in terms of the super dangerous ones.

  14. It’s mostly a meme at this point. I promise we’re not over here trembling at the thought of the creepy crawlies in Australia.

  15. Gonna level with you and finally reveal the truth…we’re not scared of your animals, we’re scared of you! We don’t trust anyone who can throw a stick and make it come back to you. We call that shit Voodoo. And we ain’t having any of it!

  17. It’s the ones that are tiny and venomous that seem concerning. We dont have that many poisonous animals in the US, and certainly not that many tiny ones. Plus the rain spiders everywhere…

  19. Personally, I would love to go to Australia and see all the wonderful creature that live there. I mean, kangaroos? Wallabys? Cockatoos? Kookaburras? Australian magpies? Sign me up!!

    I just hope a drop bear doesn’t maul my face off, first. ;D

  20. We’re really not. It’s just the “unknown” aspect of it.

    Though, just about weekly there is a European in here asking about how we can live near bear, coyote, alligators, etc… again. Just the unknown aspect for them as well.

  21. What’s on your land does not scare me. It’s what is in your waters that terrifies me.

  22. I didn’t think we are. I’d be more worried about the heat.

    I LOVE spiders, and handle them regularly, I have a mama black widow I check on everyday ❤️ so that doesn’t bother me

  24. Large predators don’t exist any more in the everyday experience of Americans, although obviously they’re still alive in some places. And even if you’re in a part of the country where bears or cougars or moose are a concern, they’re obvious and avoidable. (Seriously, you’d be shocked at how many people are killed by moose each year…)

    But tiny trapdoor spiders whose bite is instantly lethal to humans? Beautiful cone shells containing mollusks whose sting is instantly lethal to humans? There are just far too many small, seemingly inconsequential, easily-overlooked beings in Australia whose venom is instantly fatal to humans. Their unobtrusiveness doesn’t make them less scary, but more so.

  25. Haven’t seen it mentioned, but the fact that a very famous and very uniquely Australian celebrity got absolutely murked by a stingray probably didn’t help Aussie wildlife in the PR department.

  27. The most dangerous animal for two hundred miles around me is the whitetail deer, barely bigger than a sheep, because those sonsabitches subscribe to the “run really fast and hope for the best” method of crossing roads. They have shit timing so they cause a lot of crashes.

    There are a couple venomous snake and spider species here, but they’re relatively rare and easy to avoid; I’ve certainly never seen one, and I’ve spent plenty of time doing outdoorsy things. I have to go to a whole other state to get within yelling distance of a bear, wild boar, or mountain lion.

    That being said, I’m not particularly afraid of Australian animals either. They’re bizarre and I wouldn’t know how to avoid them or protect myself if confronted with them, but they’re not scary.

  28. The vast majority of Americans – more than 90% – will never see a bear or mountain lion outside of a zoo.

    Australians have spiders the size of small dogs, and snakes that are so venomous they can kill you just by thinking an unkind thought about you, and those animals are encountered constantly.

  29. sure but the chances of a bear getting in my house are much slimmer than your spiders from hell 🤣

  31. You have wonderful animals.

    I have a ridiculous fear of spiders. It’s not you, it’s me.

    I’m working on it

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