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Queensland girl's shocking discovery in school bag

<p>An Ipswich schoolgirl got the fright of her life when she reached into her bag for morning tea only to find a red-bellied black snake instead of her snacks.</p> <p>The young primary school student from Augusta State School in Augustine Heights, southwest of Brisbane, didn’t notice the snake right away – in fact, it wasn’t until it slithered across her hand that she raised the alarm.</p> <p>A staff member at the school bravely stepped in to quickly zip the backpack compartment closed and call a professional reptile handler.</p> <p>Licensed snake catcher Lana Field from Snake Catchers Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan &amp; Gold Coast arrived to find the two-foot juvenile snake curled up inside, explaining red-bellied blacks are actually quite shy, so it was probably looking for a place to hide when it entered the schoolbag.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwww.snakecatchers.com.au%2Fphotos%2Fa.185721661616455.1073741828.185716708283617%2F740882296100386%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="631" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></p> <p>“It had every opportunity to bite the child because she’s putting her hand in there in a dark space but it would have been more interested in hiding,” Field told <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/ipswich-student-finds-red-belly-black-snake-in-school-bag/news-story/6f1b9474bd2aae534002152ae55b1f38" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">news.com.au</span></strong></a>. “Nobody has ever died from a red-bellied black bite.”</p> <p>Funnily enough, the snake – the mascot for Slytherin house in the <em>Harry Potter</em> series – had slithered its way into a Gryffindor bag. In the books, the two houses are fierce rivals.</p> <p>Field said call-outs for red-bellied black snakes were common, “particularly in areas where there are rock retaining walls and any areas where there is some water in the vicinity".</p>

Home & Garden

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Retail giant Costco to open new superstore in Australia

<p>Costco is set to open its 10<sup>th</sup> superstore in Australia and the announcement of its location is imminent.</p> <p>The official announcement is expected to be made within the month but according to <em>A Current Affair</em>, Ipswich in Queensland is expected to be the new location of the Costco supermarket.</p> <p>Queensland currently only has one Costco and it is believed councils across the state were bidding for a second.</p> <p>Ipswich outgoing mayor Paul Pisasale did not confirm the news but said the Queensland city would receive some good news soon.</p> <p>“I just had a phone call before in regards to a major announcement and I'm sure the acting mayor would take a lot of delight in telling everybody,” Mr Pisasale said.</p> <p>It is expected that Costco bosses will visit Ipswich next week and an official announcement is expected to follow within the month.</p> <p>Costco currently has one store in South Australia, one in Queensland, three in New South Wales, one in the Australian Capital Territory and three in Victoria.</p> <p>The retail giant has grown in popularity since it first opened an Australian store in Docklands in 2009.</p> <p>QUT international business expert Gary Mortimer told Daily Mail Australia as Costco opened more stores, there would be room for more savings due to buying in bulk.</p> <p class="mol-para-with-font">“This is about economies of scale. When you bring in product and try to supply a small group of stores it's quite costly, but when you can multiply these store you can bring in more containers,” he said.</p> <p>“It's basically buying in bulk, buying for more stores and product, the price comes down.”</p>

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