Charlotte Foster
Family & Pets

Outback wrangler helps his son tackle a two-metre python

The world famous "outback wrangler" has divided the internet after sharing a video of his two-year-old son wrestling with a python. 

Matt Wright, who runs the Top End Safari camp in the Northern Territory, posted a video to Instagram of his son Banjo grappling with an olive python's tail, one of the largest snakes in Australia.

Matt, who also hosts the popular National Geographic show Outback Wrangler, captioned the video "learning the ropes", as Banjo follows in his dad's footsteps. 

In the video, Banjo is seen dressed in his outback khaki outfit, as he desperately tries to pull the massive snake away from the family's property.

“Pull him out buddy, pull him out,” Wright said, as Banjo holds onto the snake’s tail.

“Oh no, he’s wrapped up, here I’ll help you,” he added, as the python wraps himself around the pole and heads towards Wright’s feet.

Matt helps his son untangle the snake from the pole of the house's exterior, before encouraging Banjo to keep pulling the snake back towards the bushes. 

When the snake refuses to budge, Banjo drops the tail and yells, “Oh no, oh no” before running back to his dad.

Matt continues to encourage his son, before sweeping him off the ground when the toddler almost puts himself in a dangerous position. 

“Watch out, he’ll bite ya,” Wright said.

“What are we gonna do? Go back and grab the tail. There you go, grab the tail. Two hands! Two hands!”

Banjo appears to lose interest in taking the snake back to the bushes, with Wright trying to encourage his son again.

“Quick, grab him, he’s going to bite Dad,” Wright jokes.

The video was praised by many, with a lot of commenters comparing Matt's relationship with Banjo to the late Steve Irwin's relationship with Bindi. 

Despite the many positive comments, the wild clip wasn't received well by some. 

“Normally I love your videos but I’m not a fan of this behaviour. No need to stress the animal just for an Instagram video,” one wrote.

“In America they would call child services lol,” another added.

Image credits: Instagram @mattwright

Tags:
Family & pets, outback wrangler, Matt Wright, olive python