{"id":817047,"date":"2026-07-22T18:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/817047\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T18:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T18:06:12","slug":"wildlife-photographer-mitchell-burns-breaks-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/817047\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife photographer Mitchell Burns breaks the internet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Move over Robert Irwin, because there\u2019s a new khaki clad hero capturing hearts across the nation after trading the dusty coal mines for the outback life.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"poster-img\" src=\"https:\/\/content.api.news\/v3\/images\/bin\/fad880fee27acd054886a82565c3b0e9\" data-sctrack=\"op-poster-img\" alt=\"Why this wildlife photographer is going viral\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Wildlife photographer, Mitchell Burns from Far North Queensland spends his days searching for the perfect shot.<\/p>\n<p>The 32-year-old has built quite the fanbase over the years, racking up millions of views on his social media pages for his spectacular photography, nature knowledge and \u2026 biceps. <\/p>\n<p>Yes, you read that correctly.<\/p>\n<p>The nature-lover has followers who have even likened Burns to the iconic Robert Irwin \u2014 a compliment he\u2019s too humble to accept.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, it\u2019s been brought up a few times, but the Irwin family are in a league of their own and I\u2019m certainly not trying to be them,\u201d Burns told news.com.au. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just a regular bloke who cares about wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, he does admit they share one major thing in common.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s one similarity, it\u2019s probably the passion!\u201d he added. \u201cThey have an incredible passion for Australia\u2019s wildlife, and I have that same dedication to showcasing Australia\u2019s wild places, landscapes and animals through photography.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burns wasn\u2019t always a photographer, despite his love for it, having spent a decade working in the coal mining industry prior.<\/p>\n<p>But the pull towards the career path was a no-brainer for him having been raised rurally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI grew up in the country, so seeing snakes, lizards and other wildlife was just part of everyday life,\u201d he told us. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese days I use my platform to share the wildlife encounters and rescues that happen while I\u2019m out on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The nature-lover, who\u2019s grown his community over the years, stays incredibly modest despite his army of eager fans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople follow me for all sorts of reasons. My Instagram has never just been about landscape photography or wildlife,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really about sharing who I am, where I\u2019ve come from, and the journey along the way. When I first shared my story about leaving the mines to chase photography full-time, that\u2019s when things really took off. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think people connect with someone having a crack at following a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A quick scroll through the 32-year-old\u2019s comment sections certainly proves it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you sir, for not skipping leg days,\u201d an eager fan wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve Irwin had a baby,\u201d one teased, while another said: \u201cTarzan and Jane\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess I\u2019m moving to Australia,\u201d a third shared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would venture to the bushes of Australia for you only. I\u2019d feel so safe in those arms,\u201d someone lustfully commented.<\/p>\n<p>Others were there purely for the true blue Aussie spirit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot all heroes wear capes. Some wear thongs,\u201d one person poked fun.<\/p>\n<p>But, sad news for his lustful admirers \u2014 Burns is officially off the market, regularly hitting the road with his partner, fellow wildlife creative Jessie Stenhouse.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Stop and help\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The photographer hopes his platform encourages more people to get involved in helping wildlife in need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s an important message to encourage people to take a few minutes out of their day to stop and help an injured animal if they safely can,\u201d he urged. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe response is always incredibly positive, which tells me people genuinely care about our wildlife and love seeing those moments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DakYBFOyIEZ\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">A recent video <\/a>of Burns rescuing an owl from the side of the highway racked up more than eight and a half million views and counting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI caught something in the corner of my eye while doing 100 km\/h,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I ran over and picked him up, and he didn\u2019t even flinch. That\u2019s when I knew something wasn\u2019t right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Burns and his partner wrapped the owl in a towel and took him straight to the nearest vet, who said the animal had suffered a concussion but had since \u201cbounced back\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have taken much for a passing truck or car to hit him,\u201d he said, hoping to inspire others to stop and help animals when they can.<\/p>\n<p>As for what is next for the viral sensation, Burns says he is just getting started.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy platform has opened doors I never imagined possible, and I\u2019m excited to share what\u2019s still to come,\u201d he revealed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to keep telling stories that connect people to Australia\u2019s landscapes, wildlife and the people who call these places home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Move over Robert Irwin, because there\u2019s a new khaki clad hero capturing hearts across the nation after trading&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":817048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[392406,392353,387178,392369,392434,392427,392389,392381,383200,392399,392360,387735,378346,386027,385648,392402,392422,392365,390181,392366,392376,392423,392367,392417,376733,392429,32406,392383,392405,392349,392355,392428,392415,1313,392433,64,63,76071,317328,392407,5865,392363,81609,392390,224398,392392,350079,31801,392426,347609,155280,392393,392359,392364,392379,392410,392401,392348,392384,392409,392420,275125,392398,392370,213558,292482,29705,392425,319586,392416,392351,392424,392352,392378,392375,392362,381654,392371,392373,392368,37473,392396,392404,392430,6622,1861,42542,8212,392412,111177,35821,379880,128,15035,24677,392382,392361,392400,392291,392431,392418,392354,392413,377162,313300,392374,392403,392387,392414,35935,392432,392386,392357,377435,392356,188490,392394,392421,392380,392372,387743,379066,392388,392391,381219,379937,386778,392377,392397,214758,392419,380074,392350,390921,392395,392385,392408,392411,392358,18043,338],"class_list":["post-817047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-s-comment-sections","tag-s-landscapes","tag-s-son","tag-s-wild-places","tag-s-wildlife","tag-100-km-h","tag-32-year","tag-32yo-wildlife-photographer","tag-a-baby","tag-a-compliment","tag-a-concussion","tag-a-crack","tag-a-decade","tag-a-dream","tag-a-few-minutes","tag-a-few-times","tag-a-new-khaki-clad-hero","tag-a-new-ripped-wildlife-photographer","tag-a-no-brainer","tag-a-passing-truck-or","tag-a-photographer","tag-a-quick-scroll","tag-a-recent-video","tag-a-regular-bloke","tag-a-third","tag-a-towel","tag-a-league","tag-all-sorts","tag-an-eager-fan","tag-an-important-message","tag-an-incredible-passion","tag-an-injured-animal","tag-an-owl","tag-animals","tag-arnold-schwarzenegger-and-steve-irwin","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-biceps","tag-burns","tag-capes","tag-car","tag-commented-others","tag-common","tag-correctly-the-nature-lover","tag-doors","tag-eager-fans","tag-everyday-life","tag-far-north-queensland","tag-fellow-wildlife-creative-jessie-stenhouse-stop","tag-followers","tag-hearts","tag-his-army","tag-his-community","tag-his-days","tag-his-love","tag-his-lustful-admirers","tag-his-partner","tag-his-platform","tag-his-social-media-pages","tag-his-spectacular-photography","tag-irwin","tag-jane","tag-landscape-photography-or-wildlife","tag-landscapes-and-animals","tag-leg-days","tag-lizards","tag-millions","tag-mitchell-burns","tag-more-people","tag-more-than-eight-and-a-half-million-views","tag-my-eye","tag-my-instagram","tag-my-platform","tag-my-story","tag-nature-knowledge","tag-new-wildlife-hero-stuns","tag-news-com-au","tag-not-all-heroes","tag-old-wildlife-photographer","tag-one-major-thing","tag-one-person","tag-one-similarity","tag-other-wildlife","tag-our-wildlife","tag-part","tag-people","tag-photographer","tag-photography","tag-quite-the-fanbase","tag-reasons","tag-robert-irwin","tag-sad-news","tag-science","tag-snakes","tag-stories","tag-tarzan","tag-tarzan-and-irwin","tag-that-same-dedication","tag-the-32-year-old","tag-the-animal","tag-the-bushes","tag-the-career-path","tag-the-coal-mining-industry","tag-the-corner","tag-the-country","tag-the-dusty-coal-mines","tag-the-hearts","tag-the-highway","tag-the-iconic-robert-irwin","tag-the-internet","tag-the-internetwildlife-photographer","tag-the-irwin-family","tag-the-journey","tag-the-market","tag-the-mines","tag-the-nation","tag-the-nature-lover","tag-the-nearest-vet","tag-the-outback-life","tag-the-owl","tag-the-passion","tag-the-people","tag-the-perfect-shot-the-32-year-old","tag-the-pull","tag-the-response","tag-the-road","tag-the-side","tag-the-true-blue-aussie-spirit","tag-the-viral-sensation","tag-the-way","tag-the-wildlife-encounters-and-rescues","tag-the-years","tag-their-day","tag-their-own","tag-these-days","tag-these-places-home","tag-thongs","tag-those-arms","tag-those-moments","tag-views","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/817048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,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