Mum’s terror as girl poses... with a deadly snake
AT first glance, it simply looks like a mother’s sweet photo of her two-year-old daughter.
But look closer, and you will spot a huge, deadly snake slithering through the fence just inches away from the toddler.
Bianca Dickinson said she was ‘horrified’ when she spotted the eastern brown – the world’s second deadliest snake – only after she had taken the photo.
The mother of four was with toddler Molly at the end of their farm’s driveway near Kaniva in Victoria, Australia, waiting for her three older children to return from school when she decided to take the photo on Wednesday.
‘I was focused on her so I didn’t see anything else,’ she said. ‘I saw this flash and I just thought it was bark coming off the tree.
‘When I looked up it was already halfway past, I could see the tail between Molly’s legs.’
Mrs Dickinson said she wanted to snatch Molly out of harm’s way but knew that could startle the snake. So she froze as she let it pass, and ‘luckily Molly copied me’.
‘The photo still makes me have heart failure,’ Mrs Dickinson added. ‘It was horrifying – luckily it was over in seconds.’
The highly venomous eastern brown snake, which are around 5ft long, are known for being very aggressive. They are responsible for more deaths in Australia each year than any other snake.