Despite one of them having a snake phobia and the fact that they are both much smaller than the almost 4m-long snake, there was no way Jamie Traynor and Kari Wesighan were going to let Jess, a German Shepherd, be devoured by the python, Netwerk24 reported.

"Jess is a bitch, so it was actually three women against the snake," said Arrie van Deventer of the Rhino Orphanage in Limpopo on Tuesday.

He can smile about it now, but that's only because Jess is back from the vet in (mostly) one piece.

"The girls could only tell me what had happened up to a certain point and how they fought the snake tooth and nail," a clearly impressed Van Deventer said.

Van Deventer says Traynor and two security dogs, Zandrof and Jess, had gone take care of the rhino orphans on Sunday morning.

Pandemonium

"They were walking back through the veld at about 06:20 with Zandrof leading the way and Jess at Jamie's side.

"The next moment Jamie saw the snake, which had been in the grass, grab Jess just above her front paw and start to curl around her.

"Jamie started screaming while she grabbed the snake."

While she was desperately trying to stop the snake from wrapping its powerful body around Jess, Wesighan, a volunteer from the US, rushed to help.

"Kari is petrified of snakes, but when she saw it was going to kill Jess, she grabbed it by the tail."

It was pandemonium with the two screaming women pulling the python from both sides while Jess was trying to bite it.

"The women say they don't know exactly what happened at that stage. All they know is that they were panicking, scared and desperate and they wrestled with the snake for a good five minutes," said Van Deventer.
 US volunteer Kari Wesighan and Riaan van der Merwe, a snake handler at the Rhino Orphanage, with the python. (Supplied)

Thanks to their awesome power and courage – or perhaps because of their hysterical screaming and yanking – a joking Van Deventer said, the snake eventually let go of Jess.

The women picked Jess up and phoned Van Deventer.

Snake relocated

"I had to get hold of a vet at the nearest town on a Sunday morning to open his practice so that we could rush Jess there."

Her wound had to be cleaned and stitched up under anaesthetic.

Meanwhile, Riaan van der Merwe, a snake handler at the Rhino Orphanage, went to look for the culprit.

And the snake hadn't gone far.

"The snake, probably also a tad sore after the women's yanking, was relocated far away."

"Jamie, Kari and the impressive python were slightly traumatised but unharmed. Jess' body is still stiff and sore, but she's home and lapping up all the attention," a clearly relieved Van Deventer said with a smile.

* The location of the Rhino Orphanage hasn't been given because of safety concerns.

- News24.com