Australian Geographic Photograph winners of 2017

More pictures here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-10/gallery-of-section-winners/8785800

It finally ACTUALLY happened!!!

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Wallaby hops along Sydney Harbour Bridge, surprising early morning motorists

A wallaby hopping along the Sydney Harbour Bridge has surprised motorists early this morning, with police later cornering the startled animal and taking it to a vet for a check-up.

Callers to Sydney radio station 2GB witnessed the marsupial jumping about the lanes on the northern side of the bridge just before 5:00am.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," one caller, Michelle, said .

"I was so worried about the poor little thing. It was just hopping northbound in lane eight".

Motorists called police, and officers from Harbourside and North Shore local area commands responded.

"There was a police car following it at a really slow pace and there were a lot of cars behind it," another 2GB caller, Dean, said.

Officers took the startled macropod into police custody near the Conservatorium of Music, with the Police Mounted Unit arriving on scene soon after to take it to the zoo for veterinary assessment," police said.

The wallaby will be monitored at the hospital's intensive care unit for the next 24-hours and later released in bushland where there were other swamp wallabies.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-16/wallaby-hops-across-sydney-harbour-bridge-surprising-motorists/9332050

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I'm so glad this finally happened.  Now when people ask "do kangaroos hop down the street?" I can say "Only in Sydney".

Best Photos from Around Australia this week

More here:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-29/abc-open-pic-of-the-week/7653724

Best Pictures of the Week

More here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-25/australia-photo-gallery/9357386

This week's best pics

More here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-29/abc-open-pic-of-the-week/7653724

265,000 Lightning strikes in one night!

More than 60,000 south-east Queensland residents remain without power this morning after a severe thunderstorm swept through the region last night.

Energex says at the height of the storm about 130,000 people were left in the dark after more than 265,000 lightning strikes and high winds.

A boy was shocked while taking a shower after lightning struck nearby his house in Ferny Grove in Brisbane's north-west about 6:45pm.

Queensland Ambulance said he was conscious and breathing, but suffering from leg pain, and had been taken to the Prince Charles Hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

The BOM says more storms are forecast for tomorrow,

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-11/boy-shocked-in-shower-as-brisbane-storms-cause-power-outage/9420846

Best Pictures from around Australia this week

More here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-29/abc-open-pic-of-the-week/7653724

Best Pictures of the week

More here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-29/abc-open-pic-of-the-week/7653724

Deadly baby brown snake found in child's school lunchbox

Adelaide snake catcher Rolly Burrell told ABC Radio Adelaide the Hahndorf mum was preparing her child's lunch on Monday when she found the deadly snake.

"She'd already started packing it, the lunchbox itself has a lip around the top — snakes like to get into closed spaces so they feel secure," Mr Burrell said.

"When she opened up the lid ... she didn't even see it and she was halfway through putting the lunch in and then she saw it and shut the lid down and gave us a call."

Mr Burrell said it was normal for baby brown snakes to hatch at this time of year, but said he had been receiving an unusually high number of calls this year.

"We're doing about 50, 60 calls a day and they're all baby brown snakes," he said.

"Look I'm over it. I want to go hide on an island somewhere. We're getting smashed, we're going out three, four o'clock in the morning.

"This is one of the best years for us that I've seen in 40 years of doing it, there's just baby snakes hatching everywhere."

Just the other day, Mr Burrell said he was called to a home where a snake was found under a quilt.

"The cat had brought it in, dropped it on the bed and they both bolted."

Mr Burrell said baby brown snakes were just as lethal as a full grown one.

He said just because you found a baby brown snake, it did not mean the mother would also be hanging around.

"The mother doesn't hang around, she lays her eggs and she goes," he said.

"She's quite cannibalistic, even if she comes across them in the garden, she'll eat them. So there's no love there."

Mr Burrell said he was getting callouts to not only the hills, but also around the suburbs.

He said when he caught snakes, they were later re-released "quite a way away".

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-27/baby-brown-snake-found-in-childs-lunchbox/9488074

This week's best pictures

More here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-29/abc-open-pic-of-the-week/7653724