UK politics
fromwww.independent.co.uk
17 hours agoMost dangerous spider' in Britain behind rise in hospital admissions
The rise of false widow spiders has led to a significant increase in hospital admissions for spider bites in England.
NHS figures show that there were 100 hospital admissions in 2025 linked to spider bites - up from 47 in 2015. Experts are blaming the trend on a sharp increase in the noble false widow spider, which has been described as 'the most dangerous spider breeding in Britain.'
Red-necked keelback snakes possess a potent toxin derived from the toads they consume, which can cause severe harm to predators like mongooses. The snakes store these toxins in specialized nuchal glands.
Something so tiny and trivial if ignored could have led to my thumb or hand being removed, or sepsis could have set in. They don't know if the bite was the infection or if the bite was the catalyst for the infection to take hold. Some people are hypothesising that it could have been a false widow spider but in reality, we don't know.
I get there, I look and here's this little crocodile swimming around in the water. The sighting occurred at Federal Park in Wallsend, close to a local pool and primary school. Kirsop said she was met with initial disbelief when she contacted the wildlife rescue group Wires, and the Australian Reptile Park.
What's scarier than a spider? A really big spider, of course. A newfound defensive tactic takes advantage of this idea: researchers documented spiders building giant spiderlike silhouettes on their webs to ward off predators. These decoys are an example of web decorations that some spiders are known to produce, often to prevent getting eaten, avoid bird strikes or attract prey.
A man believed to be in his 20s is in a critical condition after being bitten by a shark in the third attack at Sydney beaches in two days. He was taken to Royal North Shore hospital on Monday evening after New South Wales Ambulance officers treated the man at Manly beach in Sydney's north following the attack. NSW police said the man was pulled from the water by members of the public who commenced first aid before emergency services arrived.
On French Island in Victoria's Western Port Bay, koalas are dropping from trees. Eucalypts have been eaten bare by the marsupials, with local reports of some found starving and dead. Multiple koalas usually solitary animals can often be seen on a single gum. Koalas were first introduced to French Island from the mainland in the 1880s, a move that protected the species from extinction in the decades they were extensively hunted for their pelts.