Beware the Blue Ringed Octopus of Australia

 

Thousands of species of fish and other sea life abound in the Great Barrier Reef that spreads across the northern coast of Australia. The reef, composed of every type of sea creatures from multi-colored fish to the living coral, is the habitation of underwater animals and plants. No wonder scuba divers and snorkellers go over the top to marvel at this amazing environment. In the midst of this breathtaking beauty, however, the fiercely poisonous blue ringed octopus hides in the clear waters of the reef.

Adventurers engaged in diving or snorkeling on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are most likely to come in contact with this tiny octopus. The blue ringed octopus is by nature a reclusive creature preferring to living in crevices or holes, but it does venture in shallow water or small tide pools to hunt. And this is precisely the area where humans come into contact and are often bitten by it.

This small but grand creature produces two types of deadly poison in its glands and secretes it into its saliva. When it is angry, it changes its color from dark yellow to bright yellow with a blue ringed pattern and injects its poison into the body of its victim. This poison is ten thousand times more potent than cyanide. As soon as it enters the body, the poison paralyses the nervous system through the bloodstream. Within seconds, the essential organs of the body like the heart and lungs stop functioning.

The government of Australia warns visitors to beware of the possible dangers of the blue ringed octopus. They have marked the areas where the blue ringed octopus has been seen. They caution the divers and swimmers to stay away from these areas lest they encounter the deadly creature.

The victim of the blue ringed octopus must seek medical help immediately. The trouble is that many times the victim does not feel the bite or any pain because of it. The symptoms to watch out for are nausea and loss of sensation. Then loss of eyesight indicates the beginning of the failure of organs. There is no antidote and the poison has to be thrown out of the body naturally. For this purpose the patient is put on a ventilator to help with breathing and functioning of the heart when he is paralyzed.
 

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