COMPETITION TIME: We're giving away FIVE family passes to The Austra... lian Reptile Park for the school holidays! Burrowing Iguanas Helped Cause $1.8 Million in Damage in One Florida Town. The Australian Reptile Park posted the warning to its Facebook page this week. Officials airdrop veggies for animals in Aust... Australia wildfires: Animals in peril across the country, The Taliban on Trump: "We hope he will win the election", Divers attempt to defuse WWII "earthquake bomb", U.K. prime minister to announce three-tier lockdown system. Published: 10:10 EDT, 23 November 2019 | Updated: 10:11 EDT, 23 November 2019. Australian Reptile Park staff immediately closed the park and moved the animals to safety Floodwaters pour down a road at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, NSW, near Gosford Meney said funnel-webs don't jump and can't climb on smooth surfaces, so they are most likely to be found at ground level. First published on January 22, 2020 / 10:31 AM The Australian Reptile Park posted the warning to its Facebook page this week. The Australian Reptile Park has experienced the worst flooding in 15 years on Friday morning as torrential rain wreaked havoc on the NSW Central Coast, prompting zookeepers to relocate animals. The adorable joey is a little girl whom researchers have decided to name Ash. © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Election Day could turn into "Election Week" with rise in mail ballots, Australians facing deadly spider "bonanza". Updated on: January 23, 2020 / 9:34 AM Aggressive punches were then thrown as they bounced around the grass area. Take control of your data: © Copyright TWC Product and Technology LLC 2014, 2020. In the Facebook video, Rumsey encouraged adults to catch male funnel-web spiders and bring them to the park, where they are milked for the raw venom. Nine News Australia on Twitter: "Australian Reptile Park’s family friendly atmosphere took a turn this afternoon, when two Kangaroos got into a punch-on of epic proportions. He added that anyone bitten by a fennel-web should immediately be taken to a hospital. / CBS News. On Wednesday, the Australian Reptile Park -- based in Somersby, in New South Wales state -- said spider activity had increased in recent days. ideal tropical conditions in which funnel-web spiders thrive. Play it now. Australians, already reeling from months of devastating bushfires, have been warned they face a potential "bonanza" of "super dangerous" funnel-web spiders. He said the park has seen an increase in the number of funnel-web spiders, which are native to eastern Australia, being brought into the park by members of the public. An Australian funnel-web spider is seen at the Australian Reptile Park in a January 23, 2006 file photo. We are issuing a message of warning to the public as recent wet weather conditions followed by hot days have created perfect conditions for funnel-web spiders to thrive. In a video post on the Australian Reptile Park's Facebook page, a staff member warned that "funnel-web spiders are potentially one of the most dangerous spiders on the planet in terms of a bite towards a human," but he noted there had not been any confirmed deaths from the spider's bite since the 1980s. "Females don't move around too much," Meney, who looks after spiders and reptiles at the park, told 9 News. Jake Meney, of the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney, told Australia's 9 News on Wednesday that hot temperatures and days of rain have increased humidity, creating perfect conditions to lure the spiders out of their hiding places. The Australian Reptile Park said anyone who captures a funnel-web can bring them to the park or one of the drop zones set up around Sydney. The Australian Reptile Park said anyone who captures a funnel-web can bring them to the park or one of the drop zones set up around Sydney. Battleground Tracker: Biden leads in Michigan and Nevada, race tied in Iowa, With more mail-in ballots, officials urge patience on election night, Americans and the right to vote: Why it's not easy for everyone, Why some mail-in ballots are rejected and how to make sure your vote counts. Allegedly, the younger kangaroo had been caught with the older ro ... Farm Heroes Saga, the #4 Game on iTunes. The Australian Reptile Park says it’s taking no chances. The rainfall combined with high summer temperatures have created ideal tropical conditions in which funnel-web spiders thrive, Australian Reptile Park keeper Jake Meney told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Rumsey said, "Funnel-web spiders are potentially one of the most dangerous spiders on the planet, in terms of a bite towards humans, and we have to treat it very seriously.". The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. While experts have voiced fears that the bushfires have killed as many as a billion wild animals, and pushed as many as a 100 species closer to extinction, the deadly spiders are apparently thriving. For the first time in a month, the Gospers Mountain Fire is ‘being controlled’ but the threat is still real. Parts of the area have received several inches of rain in the past week. First published on January 22, 2020 / 10:31 AM. "They mostly wait for the males to come and find them, but that's bad news because it's the males that are super dangerous.". “The contrast between the current bushfire crisis and this sudden flooding is striking," said the director of the Australian Reptile Park. Funnel-web spiders are on the move in eastern Australia, a reptile park warned. "Because of the recent rains and now the hot days we're now experiencing, funnel-web spiders will start to move around; in particular, male funnel-webs as they start to venture looking for a female funnel-web spider to mate with," Dan Rumsey, a zookeeper at the park, said in a video accompanying the post. What happens if the president doesn't accept the election results? (WATCH: Vehicles Float Away After Torrential Rainfall in Queensland, Australia). No one has died from a funnel-web spider bite since the 1980s. Male funnel-web spiders are of particular concern, as they are more likely to emerge seeking mating partners — and their venom is six-times more potent than that of their female counterparts. Recent rains and hot temperatures have created ideal conditions for the deadly spiders. 'The most Aussie thing I've ever seen': Frightened kangaroo... Adorable moment a kangaroo and her joey hop up to a suburban... Nine News Australia on Twitter: "Australian Reptile Park’s family friendly atmosphere took a turn this afternoon, when two Kangaroos got into a punch-on of epic proportions. A man is seen standing close to the fighting kangaroos who were punching and kicking each other. 'They doing the cha cha cha,' a child observed as the kangaroos held each other and moved around. ... Baby Ash, named for the bushfires, is a symbol of hope and rebirth after the destruction caused by Australia’s worst fire season on … "Piles of clothing, and shoes (are) a tempting retreat for them especially when they've wandered too far away from their burrow and they can't find their way back before daylight," he said. Recent weather conditions are ideal for the spiders. He said the ground-dwelling spiders are easy to catch. A funnel-web spider is pictured at the Australian Reptile Park. We're asking for any collected spiders to be brought to the park to contribute to our lifesaving antivenom program! We are no longer accepting comments on this article. They like dark spaces, so they have been known to crawl into shoes and laundry baskets left outside. Severe thunderstorms over the weekend caused flash flooding and hail in parts of New South Wales and Queensland. Just press like, tag a friend, and share this post to be in to win! For those with the nerve, Meney said the spiders aren't difficult to catch. Spectacular footage shows the two animals sizing each other before savagely throwing kicks. (MORE: Three American Firefighters Die When Plane Crashes in Australia). The Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, Australia, has announced its first koala birth since the wildfires.