When it comes to mother nature, there are some species out there that you just shouldn't mess with.

Seriously, when you think of the number of wild creatures who pose a threat to humanity, you'd think that people would treat the animal kingdom with at least a modicum of respect. But sadly, you'd be wrong. There are plenty of occasions where thoughtlessness and impulsiveness have cost lives.

Per The Mirror, this week, two clueless British tourists came very close to suffering a horrible death. A video has emerged on social media, which shows Johnpaul Lennon and Ross Saunders - who both hail from Exeter in the United Kingdom - playing with a deadly blue-ringed octopus.

In footage that Ross uploaded to Facebook, the two backpackers can be seen playing with the animal, which is highly venomous, while travelling through Queensland in Australia. The blue-ringed octopus is venomous, and its bite can contain a poison 10,000 times more powerful than cyanide.

The Facebook video was captioned: "We got home thinking not much really happened until we showed the octopus video to some of our friends, and that’s when we found out what it was and a lot of googling was done."

Ross continued: "We laughed about it when we first found out, but it did eventually sink in, and it’s surreal to think back knowing if things had been slightly different it could have been fatal, and things would be very different right now. Thankfully, no one was hurt and we can laugh about how close to death and stupid we were."

Guys, this should really go without saying, but if you are in a foreign country and see a critter you don't recognise, please ignore it and don't go poking it. Seriously, it's survival 101.

When it comes to mother nature, there are some species out there that you just shouldn't mess with.

Seriously, when you think of the number of wild creatures who pose a threat to humanity, you'd think that people would treat the animal kingdom with at least a modicum of respect. But sadly, you'd be wrong. There are plenty of occasions where thoughtlessness and impulsiveness have cost lives.

Per The Mirror, this week, two clueless British tourists came very close to suffering a horrible death. A video has emerged on social media, which shows Johnpaul Lennon and Ross Saunders - who both hail from Exeter in the United Kingdom - playing with a deadly blue-ringed octopus.

In footage that Ross uploaded to Facebook, the two backpackers can be seen playing with the animal, which is highly venomous, while travelling through Queensland in Australia. The blue-ringed octopus is venomous, and its bite can contain a poison 10,000 times more powerful than cyanide.

The Facebook video was captioned: "We got home thinking not much really happened until we showed the octopus video to some of our friends, and that’s when we found out what it was and a lot of googling was done."

Ross continued: "We laughed about it when we first found out, but it did eventually sink in, and it’s surreal to think back knowing if things had been slightly different it could have been fatal, and things would be very different right now. Thankfully, no one was hurt and we can laugh about how close to death and stupid we were."

Guys, this should really go without saying, but if you are in a foreign country and see a critter you don't recognise, please ignore it and don't go poking it. Seriously, it's survival 101.