People are outraged at this video showing a toddler playing with an enormous python

An alarming video has emerged showing a young toddler playing with a python, blissfully unaware of the dangers of the reptillian giant in East Java, Indonesia.

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© Youtube
snek

Whilst we've got parents worrying about their little one straying further than two meters from their safety before losing their mind, meanwhile, here we have a toddlerplaying with a reticulated python, the world's longest and heaviest snake amongst the top three species. It should also be noted that these guys can grow to weigh as heavy as 160kg (around 25 stone).

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The clip shows the unsuspecting toddler slipping and sliding over the serpent's dense body, before hopping over it a few times and playfully lifting the animaloff the ground by the head.

Whilst no harm has been done to the little boy and the pythonappears to be completely docile, this video - understandably - caused outrage amongst viewers, concerned for the child's safety. Some argued that it was incredibly lucky that the python was allegedly fed, and thus not targeting the toddler as prey.

Others argued that the risk of any danger was very low, especially if the python was kept as a pet, as they sometimes are in countries such as Indonesia.

Whilst it's reassuring to know that nothing catastrophic happened in this instance, other cases have emerged within the last year have gone very differently. A 54-year-old woman had been killed and swallowed whole by a python with a length of over 7 metres earlier within the year. Whilst incidents like that are rare, however, researchers are concerned that deforestation and the palm oil industry are contributing factors to such cases due to eradicating pythons' natural prey.

Okay, well there's one thing left to say: don't try this at home!

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