The basic Aussie survival skill we forget as soon as we go overseas

Coming from temperate Melbourne, where the most exciting animal I’ll ever see is a snake at the bottom of the garden (that’s quite exciting, actually), I’ll never get tired of seeing wild animals roam, especially when I’m in a different country. That’s why, on a family holiday in Malaysia, the temptation to get up close to the family of long-haired macaques we spot in the Penang Botanic Gardens is irresistible. But when the matriarch bares her teeth, hisses and moves to attack, well, my partner jumps backwards so fast and my children bolt in terror in ways I’ve never seen before.

We’ve read the signs at the entrance to the gardens that say not to feed the animals or have food out in the open, so while we duly put away our snacks, we forget the basic rule of survival: never get too close to the wildlife.

Credit: Greg Straight

Would I have approached the brown snake in my garden to get a selfie? No. So why did I think a macaque would be any different?

While our encounter results in nothing more than a bruised ego, many Australians are not so lucky. Travel risk management provider World Travel Protection (WTP) says it deals with at least one animal bite or injury a day on behalf of its insurance clients. You can be sure that if someone is calling their insurer, they’re not concerned about injuries fixed with a dab of antiseptic and some plaster.

Monkey and dog bites are some of the most common injuries resulting in insurance claims in Bali and other parts of Asia, and they both require treatment for rabies. Cats, squirrels and even camels can also transmit rabies.

By the time symptoms appear – perhaps your hand is red, and you have a headache or feel feverish – it could be too late.

“Rabies risk is something we deal with often,” says Deb Harvey, of WTP. “If you get bitten or scratched it’s imperative you get the right treatment quickly.”

Unfortunately, finding the correct treatment isn’t always easy. “We had a case where a man was bitten by a dog in Bali,” Harvey says. “Because of supply issues, there was no immunoglobulin available locally. We had to fly him back to Australia for time-critical treatment.”

Rabies isn’t the only risk when you get too close to wildlife. In June, an Indian man was mauled at an animal park in Phuket while attempting to take a selfie with a tiger. These incidents can even happen in more controlled environments. Earlier this month, a lion mauled a woman at Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland, leaving her with serious injuries, despite being accompanied into the enclosure with experienced keepers.

It’s odd, really, because as a nation there’s nothing we love more than terrifying foreigners with stories of our own deadly creatures. We might even tell a tall tale or two – tackling crocs, boxing with ’roos, stories of massive sharks and tiny, hairy, venomous spiders. It’s a habit that may not be appreciated by Tourism Australia, but it is a lot of fun. We also pride ourselves on our camping, surfing, hiking knowledge – and deep down we imagine there’s a little bit of Steve Irwin in every one of us.

Beyond this fantasy, Australians generally have a healthy respect for the dangers of wildlife in our own country, and (mostly) know how to stay safe around them, or simply stay out of their way, so it’s difficult to fathom why many Australians travelling overseas are injured because they get too close to the local fauna.

Maybe it’s because we’re used to cats and dogs and think nothing of giving them a pat, or we assume an animal that’s cute can’t be deadly.

Or perhaps it’s because when we go on holidays, we decide to give our brains a break too.

See worldtravelprotection.com