Australia is a beautiful nation/continent that seemingly defies nature. It might be a wonderful area, but it’s unlike most other major landmasses across the world. In fact, there are some dangerous animals that live here and nowhere else. The deadliest animals in Australia get a ton of press and for good reason. But how did Australia become so different compared to the rest of the world? Well, millions of years ago, Pangea already broke apart to leave Gondwana. Around 180 million years ago, the west and eastern portion broke apart.
On the west were Africa and South America. Meanwhile, in the east, we had Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. Eventually, India broke off along with Madagascar to leave Australia and Antarctica. Those two then broke apart 30 million years ago. This is why they all share some similar creatures except Antarctica. Many of Australia’s creatures soon became more diverse as time went on. Removed from the rest of the world, they evolved very differently. While some differences are good, the Aussies also began to see very deadly creatures form. Our list will reveal them all for you!
Tasmanian Tigers
- Danger Level: None (used to be kinda high)
We’d feel terrible if we did not include one of Australia’s most distinct creatures, the Tasmanian Tiger. Contrary to its name, this isn’t a tiger nor a cat at all. It’s actually a carnivorous marsupial, a lot like the Saber-Toothed Tiger. This is why it’s actually pretty easy to compare the two. The true name of the Tazmanian Tiger is the Thylacine, and they were hunted to extinction by humans. Originally, Dingoes rising up in number led to their extinction in mainland Australia, along with climate change.
This resulted in the Thylacine only having a small population on the island of Tasmania by around 2,000 to 3,000 years ago, but they were holding strong. The British then began to settle in Australian territories in the 1700s and 1800s. Van Diemen’s Land Company put a bounty on the creature as early as 1830. On top of that, between 1888 and 1909 the Tasmanian government paid money per Thylacine head. That ultimately led to their complete extinction by around 1930.