Aussie girl's life threatening mistake in innocent video
A snake catcher in Victoria says a little girl is “extremely lucky” to be alive after mistakenly picking up one of the world’s most venomous snakes.
In a Facebook video, which has since gone viral, the 11-year-old tells the camera that she’s “just found a snakey".
In her hands the small reptile can be seen casually wrapped around her fingers.
“He is a garter snake,” her young voice declares, referring to a harmless creature native to North America.
But in fact he wasn’t.
“This is an extremely dangerous eastern brown snake,” Stewy the Snake Catcher wrote online.
“The girl in the video is extremely lucky that she wasn’t bitten by the snake, and her parents should probably go and buy a lottery ticket.”
The clip had been sent to Stewy by the 11-year-old’s grandparent who was hoping he would be able to identify the snake they’d picked up while out through Newport, in Melbourne’s southwest.
While the girl escaped unscathed, Stewy warns the outcome could have been very different.
“Eastern brown snakes are a nervous snake and are responsible for the most deaths caused by snake bites in Australia,” he said.
“This little girl could have actually died from a bite from this snake.”
People online shocked by girl's act
More than 500 people have reacted to the Facebook post with many surprised the girl was ok.
“OMG knowing what it was as soon as the video started, my heart was pounding as I expected a bite at any moment,” one person said.
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“I read the description first so went in armed with the knowledge that she didn’t come to harm but still felt like I was going to vomit watching,” another said.
“Wow, I can’t believe it didn’t bite her,” someone else added.
Brush with death sparks call for greater snake education
The incident has sparked Stewy to issue an urgent warning to “please, please, please” remind children not to interfere or interact with any wildlife.
“Education is the key to making sure these situations never happen,” he said.
Stewy went on to explain that due to laws in Victoria snake catchers aren’t allowed to post photos or videos online of the snakes they catch.
He says this is making it even harder to educate the younger generation about the different snakes in our environment and what you should or shouldn’t do if you encounter one.
“We need to teach our kids right from wrong, and handling any wildlife is dangerous, and should be left to the professionals.”
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