Bet You Don’t Meet One of These on the Beach at Olson Lake

We've often talked about how this part of Illinois is somewhat lacking in venom-dripping creepy-crawlies that would like nothing more than to bite you. Sure, our state does have venomous snakes, but we're the minor leagues compared to our friends in Australia.

In the venomous snake department, Illinois has four native species. We've got the copperhead, cottonmouth, timber rattlesnake and the massasauga. Sure, they can be nasty and troublesome, but honestly, when was the last time you encountered one?

On the other hand (and other side of the world), Australia is home to something like 8 of the world's top ten deadliest snakes. Actually, the Aussies share space with over 140 varieties of land snakes, with these being the most deadly:

• Eastern Brown Snake
• Western Brown Snake
• Mainland Tiger Snake
• Inland Taipan
• Coastal Taipan
• Mulga Snake
• Lowlands Copperhead
• Small Eyed Snake
• Common Death Adder
• Red Bellied Black Snake

Those are land snakes. Meet the Olive Sea Snake, a highly-venomous creature that can be found around the coasts of Australia, with reef areas being their preferred habitat. Luckily, they're not very aggressive, and even if they should bite you, you stand a very good chance at surviving the experience because of Australia's extensive stocks of anti-venom, and also because the Olive Sea Snake only injects venom less than half the time they bite.

So, the next time you're out at Olson Lake enjoying the beach, be glad you're not hanging around the beach near Broome, in Northwestern Australia, like this guy with the camera was a couple of days ago: