Steve Irwin, a passionate conservationist and wildlife enthusiast, was a household name up to and after his death by stingray in 2006. His children, Bindi and Robert, are following in his footsteps as conservationists, zookeepers, and TV personalities. Robert, 19, just had a close call with a python in his line of work.
Robert shared a TikTok video of the incident on November 25. In the video, Robert crouches beside a beautiful leopard-spotted snake on the side of the road at night. He lies beside the snake saying, "Look at this big boy! Look at the size of him!"
Robert is attempting to rescue the carpet python, a large species of snake found in Australia and Indonesia, from the road. Carpet pythons are nonvenomous and kill their prey by strangling them. Despite that, they have long, sharp teeth.
Just as he settles him, Robert is cut off by the snake itself as it lunges for his face, and just barely misses. Both Robert and whoever is filming him gasp. He sits up and laughs off the near-miss, saying "That gets the heart rate up!" He holds up his index finger and thumb about an inch apart to show the camera how close the snake came to his face.
In the TikTok caption, Robert writes, "Near miss! Definitely had a good laugh with this grump carpet python—but great to get him re[s]cued off the road and relocated to a much safer spot!"
Despite the near miss, Robert manages to wrangle the large, squirming snake after a few more false strikes. "He's really keen on biting me!" Robert says, before placing the snake into a large bag. The clip finishes with Robert releasing the snake in a sunny meadow, far from the road.
READ MORE: How to Tell If a Snake Is Venomous or Harmless
