Hugs and Hisses: Aussie Man Unfazed as Olive Python Wraps Itself Around Leg

Many would recoil in horror at the thought of a snake wrapping itself around their leg, but this photographer from Western Australia was unfazed when an olive python clung to his calf.

Footage by reptile photographer Ross McGibbon shows the python clinging to his leg, and even biting him, as he calmly watches on and records the strange interaction.

“You gotta love juvenile snakes; they think everything’s out to get them. This is the result of momentarily blocking its path of escape with my foot while I got my phone out to video,” McGibbon said in a Facebook post.

According to McGibbon, constrictors such as pythons and boas will use constriction not just for prey, but also as a defensive strategy to subdue an aggressor.

“At this size he wasn’t subduing anything, so I helped him on his way,” he said in the post. Credit: Ross McGibbon via Storyful