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Australia: An entire continent so infested with deadly creepy crawlies and creatures of all kinds,
澳大利亚，一块遍布致命又诡异爬虫和各种生物的大陆，
it seems like it's actively trying to kill you. Or so people like to say.
这块大陆就像是一直在积极谋划怎么害死你一样。反正大家就喜欢这么说。
But is the natural world really any more dangerous down under than anywhere else?
但是澳洲或新西兰地区的自然界真的比其他地方更加危险么？
One way to figure that out is with The Living Hazards Database,
求证的方法之一就是查看物种危害数据库，
which is compiled by the United States Department of Defense for military doctors serving overseas.
由美国国防部编辑并提供给海外服役的军医。
And it lists more than 60 species of venomous animals living down under,
其中列举了生活在澳洲或新西兰地区的60多种有毒生物，
compared to just 34 in the United States, which covers a similar geographical area.
相比之下，类似地理区域的美国仅有34种。
And that's not even considering sharks or crocs. Which means Australia has to be super dangerous, right?
其中还不包括鲨鱼或鳄鱼。这意味着澳大利亚一定超级危险。
But the truth is, animals don't kill a lot of people in Australia. And when they do, it's usually not the ones you're thinking of.
但事实上，在澳大利亚动物并没有致很多人死亡。而且那些致命的动物，通常不是你想的那些。
According to the Australian government's figures, between 2000 and 2010,
澳大利亚政府数据表明，2000年到2010年间，
animals were only involved in the death of about 250 people in Australia.
在澳大利亚，动物仅涉及约250人的死亡。
And of those, 137 were related to horses, dogs, or cows.
其中，137起死亡和马、狗或奶牛有关。
For comparison, a 2018 study found that from 2008 to 2015, animals were involved in the death of over 1,600 Americans
相比之下，2018年的研究发现，2008年到2015年间，超过1600美国人的死亡和动物有关—
though the US does have more than ten times more people than Australia.
虽然美国人口是澳大利亚的十倍多。
The most dangerous animal in Australia was actually the kangaroo, and that was largely from car accidents.
澳大利亚最危险的动物其实是袋鼠，危险大部分源自车祸。
So why does the meme persist that everything in Australia is trying to kill you?
所以为什么人们坚持认澳大利亚的每个物种都想要害死你呢？
Part of it might come from confusion about which animals are potentially dangerous and which ones actually end up hurting people.
部分原因可能是因为不知道哪些动物是有潜在危险的，哪些是会伤害人类的。
Take the inland taipan, for instance. It's a snake that lives in Australia and is said to be the most venomous snake on the planet.
例如内陆动物太攀蛇。这种蛇生活在澳大利亚，据称是星球上最毒的蛇。
But it also tends to live in very remote areas and is fairly shy.
但是它更喜欢生活在非常偏远的地区，还相当害羞。
Only a handful of people have ever been bitten, and deaths are virtually unheard of.
仅有一小部分人曾被它咬伤，致死的案例闻所未闻。
For comparison, the saw-scaled viper of Asia and northern Africa has much weaker venom,
相比之下，亚洲和北非的锯鳞蝰毒性更小
but it kills way more often, since it's more aggressive and lives closer to people.
但致死人数却更多，因为这种蛇更具攻击性且生活的地方离人类更近。
Other times, the danger may actually be more of a folk tale than a real threat.
其他时候，危险与其说是真正的威胁，不如说是民间传说。
The bite of the Australian white-tailed spider, for instance, is rumored to cause horrible, gangrene-like necrotic ulcers.
例如，谣传被澳大利亚白尾蜘蛛咬伤会引起可怕的、坏疽似的骨疽溃疡。
But studies have found no evidence of this ever happening,
但研究发现没有证据证明存在这种情况，
and the story might be the result of a couple misdiagnosed case studies back in the 1980s. But don't get me wrong.
并且这个故事可能是上世纪80年代两种误诊案例研究的结果。但是不要会错意了。
There are dangerous animals in Australia, like funnel web spiders or box jellyfish, which merit a healthy dose of caution.
澳大利亚确实有危险动物，比如漏斗网蜘蛛或是箱型水母，它们应该引起大家的注意。
But by and large, Australia is not trying all that hard to kill you.
但是总的来说，澳大利亚并没有拼尽全力想要杀死你。
Sure, it has a few more kinds of venomous creatures, but the number of deaths that they cause is extremely low.
当然，澳大利亚的有毒生物是多了一些，但是它们所导致死亡数量非常的低。
In the end, nature there is just as dangerous as it is anywhere else. Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow.
最后，那里的大自然和别处一样危险。感谢收看本期《科学秀》。
And thanks especially to out patrons on Patreon who help us keep making free, educational science content for everyone to enjoy.
特别感谢Patreon的赞助人帮助我们制作免费的教育性视频供大家观看。
If you want to become a part of that community and help support us, you can go to patreon.com/scishow.
如果你想成为社区一份子并帮助支持我们，请登录patreon.com/scishow。
