A 12-year-old Australian girl saved her pet guinea pig from the jaws of a six-foot long snake by swinging it above her head “like a hammer thrower”.
Rosie Whitman discovered the python wrapping itself around her pet, Maxibon, behind a bush in her family’s back garden, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
“I saw the snake wrapping, wrapping and wrapping itself around his neck, so tight,” she later told Australian network 9News in a sit-down interview, while stroking the rescued pet on her lap.
“He was trying to fight it off, so I was like, ‘I have to help him.’ So I grabbed the snake and swung it around.”
Luke Whitman, Rosie’s father, recalled hearing his daughter “screaming at the top of her lungs” before he found her swinging the snake “like a hammer thrower”.
‘If my daughter can hold the python, so can I’
Grace Whitman, Rosie’s mother, said the family did not think anyone would believe the “wildest” experience they had endured – but then they remembered security cameras overlooked the garden.
Footage shows Rosie grabbing the reptile’s tail and whirling it around in the air – all while it continues latching on to Maxibon.
Mr Whitman then snatches the snake and hurls it across the lawn, after which it slithers away.
“To be honest, I only grabbed it because it was in Rosie’s hands. I was like, ‘if a 12 year-old, my daughter, can hold it, so can I,’” he told 9News.
“I just had to jump in. It was just instinct, to try and get rid of the danger. It was an absolutely insane moment,” he added.
“I chased after it and watched it slither away unhurt, although a little dizzy.”
‘It was pretty full on’
The species of the snake has not been confirmed but its colouring suggested it could have been a juvenile python, which are common in bushland around the rural town of Eumundi, where the family live.
Pythons have no venom but instead kill their prey by squeezing their bodies.
Rosie said she was not “scared” or “fazed” by the incident, adding she would do anything to protect her beloved Maxibon.
“It was pretty full on though,” she said of the ordeal.
Her “terrified but proud ” parents, however, warned their daughter against taking matters into her own hands should she have a similar encounter in the future.
“We’re so grateful you’re fine but next time, step away. We’ll buy you two more pigs,’” Mrs Whitman told the 12-year-old.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
