Robert Irwin described how he was attempting to transport a snake to a secure spot when the monster lunged for him, just missing his face.
For years, the 19-year-old, son of late ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin and conservationist Terri Irwin, and brother of Bindi Irwin, has followed in his family’s footsteps with his love of animals and nature.
Robert is a regular on television, appearing on series such as Robert’s Real Life Adventures and the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, and has a slew of devoted followers.
In an Instagram video, he described his terrifying experience with a carpet python found on the side of the road.
The snake tried to nip at Robert several times as he tried to get near enough to pick it up and transport it – and although some would have panicked, the zookeeper remained calm the entire time.
The video starts with the adolescent lying on his stomach on the ground, extremely near to the python, resting on his left arm and extending his right.
‘Hey mate,’ he said, but his friendly greeting was interrupted as the snake almost managed to sink its teeth into his face.
As someone gasped off-camera, Robert burst into laughter, telling his viewers: ‘He missed me by that much,’ using his fingers to gesture a very small distance.
‘But he is probably worked up because he’s on the road. Man, you see how close that was to my face?! You would have felt that!’
As the snake continued to pounce for him, Robert attempted to pick it up again.
‘He is real grumpy. Ok, this is going to be a little bit tricky here to not cop a bite,’ the TV personality admitted, continuing to speak calmly to the creature as he lifted it up, all the while still at risk of being bitten.
Robert explained to his viewers that while the carpet python is non-venomous, it does have very big teeth, and it’s ‘designed to constrict, to grab, hold’.
‘Then, they’ll wrap around them, asphyxiate them. Very quick and very efficient. It’s actually a great way to catch their prey. That’s what he’s doing to my hand right now,’ he shared, as the snake wrapped itself tightly around his hand.
‘He’s actually got a really good grip there,’ Robert said 10 minutes later – just like his dad, keeping his composure.
‘Like I’ve lost complete blood flow to my hand. It’s completely blue. I’ve got no feeling left in my hand, and he’s just kind of holding on, he’s just having a really good grip.’
Robert eventually managed to take the snake to a car, where it was casually put on the ground by his feet and legs before being transferred to a huge bag.
The snake was then taken out of the bag and released into the wild via tall blades of grass the next morning.
‘Alright so, this morning, we’ve come out to a really good piece of bush, which is really far from the road,’ he explained, describing the mission as a ‘job well done’.
Numerous people praised Robert on his perpetually calm mindset, with one writing: ‘“He’s really keen on biting me…” ~ Robert Irwin, with Zen like calm as a huge snake keeps striking at him as attempts to help it. 😂😂 Cheers to you, brother!!’
‘The way he causal says “I’ve got no feeling in my hand”,’ someone else said alongside a cry-laughing emoji, while another wrote: ‘This is precarious yet hiss-terical !😂 all at the same time. Thank you for helping snakey dude slither to safety! 👍🏼💕.’
