A lot of people would turn and run if they spotted a snake in their yard, but one 12-year-old girl leapt into action when she spotted a snake going after a beloved family pet.
Snakes aren't creatures you want to mess with if you're not familiar with them.
Some species of the creatures swallow their prey whole when hunting - and that includes fully grown humans if the reptile is particularly hungry that day.
Snakes can be common pets, but it wasn't a resident pet that appeared in the garden of 12-year-old Rosie Wightman when she was playing outside recently.
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In footage shared by Rosie's uncle, Brisbane radio personality Kip Wightman, Rosie could be seen walking over to a corner of the yard in Australia and crouching over a shrub where her guinea pig, MaxiBon, had ventured.
The 12-year-old appeared to follow the guinea pig as it scurried from behind the bush, but all of a sudden Rosie knelt down and grabbed something from the ground.
The footage caught the moment she stood up straight with a snake gripped in her palm, and MaxiBon the guinea pig hanging from the snake's fangs.
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Knowing she had to free MaxiBon, Rosie proceeded to swing the snake dramatically around the garden to try and encourage the snake to release its grip.
The poor guinea pig wouldn't have had a clue what was happening as the world turned into a blur around it and it crashed into objects in the garden, but incredibly Rosie's technique worked as she threw the snake to the ground and MaxiBon fled back into the bushes.
Speaking to 7News after the dramatic rescue, Rosie admitted she didn't think twice about helping the guinea pig.
“Didn’t even think it through," she said. "I was just like, ‘grab the snake, grab the snake'."
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It's not a technique I'd necessarily recommend, but Rosie's dad, Luke Wightman shared his pride for his daughter after he'd rushed into the garden to see what all the fuss was about.
“I’m proud that my Rosie, at 12 years old, had the guts to pick up a snake and save her pet’s life,” he said.
It's unclear exactly what type of snake tried to make a meal out of MaxiBon, with the footage indicating it could be anything from a deadly eastern brown snake or a less-threatening - though still scary - python.
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Whatever the snake was, the good news is that it didn't manage to escape with MaxiBon and the guinea pig seems to be doing fine after his scary encounter.
Emily Brown