A snake catcher who caught an enormous python at a family home in Far North Queensland says she has become the victim of online abuse for her trouble.
Charlie Bear was called to a home at Mission Beach, south of Cairns, to help capture the 40-kilogram python after resident Lea-Ann Kennedy came across the reptile in her shed.
The 5.5-metre creature then slithered into her laundry, prompting Ms Kennedy to call in the experts.
The snake catcher called in fellow reptile wrangler Tom Geary to help, with the pair filmed struggling to slide the snake into a black bag.
The snake was then released unharmed into nearby bushland.
The python-wrangling video has been shared thousands of times, with several people criticising the pair's snake-catching skills, including when the snake appeared to be "tapped on the head".
"There's a lot of negativity around the video and I am receiving abuse because of it," Ms Bear said.
"People don't understand that a snake this large is very strong and extremely awkward to manoeuvre."
Ms Kennedy, who called in the pair to remove the snake, said she was disappointed by the reaction on social media.
"Some of the hate and the words and the description on social media, I've been flabbergasted by it," Ms Kennedy said.
"Charlie was doing her job, there were dogs around and we didn't want him to be harmed.
"At the time, you are doing what you need to do and we wanted to remove it [the snake] to a safe environment, which was what was done."
Scrub pythons, also known as amethystine pythons, are considered one of the longest snakes in Australia and can grow up to 8.5 metres long.
They live in rainforest and coastal scrublands from Townsville to Cape York and strangle their prey.
