A 12-year-old Australian girl shocked her family and the internet when her home’s security camera captured the moment she heroically rescued her pet guinea pig from the jaws of a wild snake.
Rosie Wightman was cleaning out the cage belonging to her pet, named MaxiBon, in her Queensland backyard when she realized that a snake had gotten ahold of the poor guinea pig in the bushes.
Footage recorded by a camera mounted on her home showed Rosie bravely grabbing the snake and swinging it as if she were competing in a hammer throw event before her parents heard the commotion and rushed outdoors.
“It was insane,” said Rosie’s dad, Luke Wightman, to the Washington Post on Thursday. “When I saw her lassoing it, I was actually scared.”
Thankfully, Luke was able to separate the snake from MaxiBon and toss him across the garden.
The Sunday morning incident began making headlines after Rosie’s uncle, Australian radio host Kip Wightman, posted the video on his Instagram page.
Rosie’s mom, Grace Wightman, said that she and Luke were focused on “consoling Rosie and having a family moment” in the aftermath of the event, realizing that they had witnessed an almost unbelievable scene.
It was “wild” to hear a “bloodcurdling scream” from Rosie and see her “whizzing around with a … snake attached to her guinea pig,” Grace said to the Post.
When she and her husband rushed out to see what was causing all the ruckus, they were still in their pajamas.
Rosie told Australia’s 7NEWS earlier that she simply acted on “instinct.”
“I didn’t even think it through, I was just like: ‘Grab the snake, grab the snake,’” she said to the outlet.
She recalled hearing little MaxiBon “constantly screaming” while the snake appeared to be “wrapped around his neck.”
After swinging the snake around by its tail, the reptile loosened its bite on the rodent’s neck but shifted its jaws to his leg instead, Rosie said.
“I’m just really happy that my guinea pig is still alive,” she added.
The niece of popular breakfast radio show host Kip Wightman has had a rattling encounter with a snake in her Eumundi backyard. Rosie's beloved pet was almost dinner for the reptile but instead of fleeing in fear she leapt into action. https://t.co/YReZ2eFXSp @tiarni_reid #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/eIeWwKstk3
— 7NEWS Sunshine Coast (@7NewsSC) January 31, 2024
Luckily, Luke said MaxiBon was “totally fine,” and he later found the snake “wrapped up in a bamboo tree… It was actually fine.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.