Dramatic footage of the moment a five-year-old girl in Texas was ambushed by a large black snake on the porch outside her home has been captured on a doorbell camera.
A video shared with Newsweek by Ring shows the moment the snake appeared from behind a pillar as the young child walked out of the front door closely followed by her mom. The girl appears understandably shocked, while the woman lets out a scream and backs back into the house.
Despite some raised voices and understandable panic, the mom is eventually able to guide the girl back inside and closes the door behind her. The whole scene is something of a surprise to the girl’s dad, who had exited the house seconds earlier with a bag of trash to dispose of.
At that point, the snake was nowhere to be seen, having evidently been hidden out of his line of sight behind the pillar. When he returns to the property moments later, however, an entirely different scene greets him.
Ring
The mom and her daughter are inside, the front door is closed, and a large snake is sprawled out on the patio in front of him.
As the video ends, the dad can be seen, having returned, watching the snake from a distance as the reptile slithers away from the family property.
The footage was shared with Ring by the man in the video, Himanshu. It was filmed outside his home in Frisco, Texas, on May 6.
He told Ring that while it was a shock and they were initially frightened, he ultimately saw positives to the encounter.
“While preparing for an international trip, we were startled by a large black snake spotted by my daughter on our front patio,” Himanshu told Newsweek. “Although initially terrified, especially with a young child and a husky at home, we were relieved that everyone was safe. Watching the video later, I found it reassuring and felt it was a sign of blessing from Lord Shiva, as black snakes are associated with him in our South Asian culture.”
Though it may have been a shock given the circumstances, Texas is home to a significant number of snakes and the vast majority are largely harmless.
According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the state is home to over 105 different species and subspecies of snakes and only 15 pose any kind of danger to humans.
Texas is home to four types of venomous snake: Copperheads, Cottonmouths, Rattlesnakes and Coral Snakes.
Texas Health and Human Services estimates on average one to two people in Texas die each year from venomous snake bites.
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