Robert Irwin has rescued a carpet python from a vending machine at his family’s zoo, describing it as a first in his career.
The non-venomous snake was found caught behind several bottles of soft drink in a machine on the Australia Zoo grounds, prompting a call out to the Wildlife Warrior.
The 19-year-old son of the late Steve Irwin took to TikTok to share the rescue mission in a video now viewed more than 9.4 million times.
As he was filmed driving around the grounds in his truck, Robert revealed the call out to free the python was “a first”.
After pulling up, he took charge of the phone and showed viewers the predicament the snake was caught in.
It could be seen coiled up behind bottles of Coke.
“This is our chance for free Coca-Cola,” he joked as the machine was opened by an attendant.
Robert felt around the part of the machine where the snake was caught before beginning the precarious mission to save it.
“What we don’t want is for him to go up into the wiring,” he said as he began to free the python.
“We need to pull him up at the front, we don’t want to make him too upset because we want him to come out nice and smooth.”
It appeared to take him just seconds to free the snake, with Robert closing the machine behind him while holding the python.
“That is how you get a carpet python out of a vending machine,” he said to some laughter.
Robert said it appeared it was not the first time “this bloke” had gotten himself into trouble – pointing viewers’ attention to the snake’s unusual feature.
“He is missing the end of his tail, and that’s an old injury from a long time ago,” Robert said.
Talking to the snake, Robert said he would relocate him, waning him: “don’t go in any more vending machines mate”.