Wouldn't you think that there is a species of centipede that can eat 3,700 seabirds a year? What's going on here?
The common centipede in our lives, also known as Draco and Centipede, is a terrestrial arthropod, the body is composed of many body segments, each section has legs, so it is a multi-legged creature. The average centipede has three kinds: red-headed, blue-headed, and black-headed, with a body length of about 9 to 17 cm and a width of 0.5 to 1 cm.
They are afraid of the sun, prefer to live in dark and damp places, are accustomed to nocturnal activities, mainly feed on spiders, snails, green insects, cockroaches and other insects, and have a wide range of distribution, except for Antarctica, on six continents.
In fact, in general, a centipede that can grow to 17 centimeters can already be regarded as the ceiling in the centipede. Unexpectedly, a mountain is still higher than a mountain, and there are giant centipedes that can grow to 30 centimeters in Phillip Island, Australia.
If you know Australia friends should know, this place is surrounded by the sea on all sides, the natural environment is good, and the land is sparsely populated. The most obvious feature is that there are many local wild animals, and there are many large ones, such as spiders, snakes and the like, which seem to be larger than the domestic ones, such as the giant centipede living on Phillip Island.
Moreover, according to expert statistics, this giant centipede also preys on about 3700 seabirds every year.
Maybe at first glance, you think that the giant centipede can eat some seabirds, which seems to be reasonable, and it is not surprising, after all, its size is there.
But what you should know is that the Australian seabirds are not the small birds we usually see, but the huge Australian silver gulls, egrets and so on. For example, the Australian silver gull, with a body length of about 60 cm; Australian egret, up to 90 cm long.
In terms of body size, these seabirds are so much larger than giant centipedes, how can there be so many seabirds, killing the mouth of the centipede?
In fact, it is mainly because of these several reasons.
First of all, centipedes have venom. As one of the famous "five poisons", the centipede contains two kinds of toxic ingredients similar to bee venom, which are usually pierced into the skin through their teeth. After poisoning, it can cause local pain, redness and swelling of the skin, and cause coma and shock.
Small centipedes are poisonous, not to mention the giant centipede that has mutated in Australia, and its toxicity is much stronger than other common centipedes.
Moreover, as we all know before, centipedes lie out at night and like to forage for food at night. When night falls, giant centipedes creep into the holes where the seabirds inhabit, bite the sleeping seabirds, and release venom. And when the seabird is awakened, it is too late, the venom has entered the bloodstream, began to paralyze its nerves, it can only be reduced to the food of the centipede. Giant centipedes use this venom to kill so many seabirds every year.
Secondly, centipedes are social animals and are very united. Whenever a seabird is successfully hunted, everyone will divide and eat it. Unlike scorpions, which like to kill each other, when there is not enough habitat between centipedes, the old centipede will take the initiative to make room for the young centipede. So, unity makes centipedes stronger, allowing them to defeat larger creatures.
Although in our lives, it is almost impossible to meet such a giant centipede in Australia. But it is worth mentioning that centipedes, no matter how big or small, are poisonous.
So. If you are unfortunate enough to be bitten by a centipede, how do you deal with it?
First, treat the wound. When bitten by a centipede, first see if there are any poisonous teeth in the wound, and if so, immediately remove them, and then wash them with soapy water;
Second, reduce swelling and relieve pain. If possible, you can use an ice pack to apply cold compresses to reduce the pain;
Third, go to the hospital in time. If it is more serious, please send it to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Finally, I still have to remind everyone that if you go to the wild, make sufficient preparations in advance, in addition to doing a good job of self-protection, you should also actively learn some self-help methods in case of emergency.