They start them young in Florida, that’s for sure…
The Sunshine State is known for beaches, crazy wildlife, and even crazier people.
Typically, we hear stories about the infamous Florida Man, and there’s been an uptick in Florida Woman news, but now we’re starting to hear from the teens.
Onya Golightly is a 16-year-old wildlife enthusiast from Florida who runs a YouTube channel and Instagram account documenting her encounters with all types of animals, but particularly snakes, of which she owns quite a few.
While winding down for the night earlier this month, Onya’s dad got an alert from his Ring App Neighborhood Alert. It said that someone 5 miles away found a large python in their backyard and wanted some help getting rip of it. Knowing and supporting his daughter’s passion, he asked if she wanted to go catch a snake, which she happily agreed to do.
They arrived and Onya took the lead, grabbing the snake behind the head and removing it from the flower pot. After an 8 minute struggle to get it unwound from her arm, they were able to put it in a bag and eventually turn the 10 foot python it in to Florida Fish and Wildlife.
Gotta love this.
Pythons are a major problem in Florida, especially in the Everglades, so whether this one was wild or a pet that got out or was released, it’s good to get this invasive species off the streets.
But it’s just that much better when a teen gets to bring out her inner Steve Irwin for a good cause.
