Video: Giant rat collides with teen sledding down a hill
17-year-old Cole Salsman thought a piece of a sled had hit him - turns out it was a large rat.
Salsman was not injured and neither, apparently, was the rat. Credit: Cole Salsman
A Victoria teen and a startled rat are apparently both none the worse for wear after their mid-air collision on a snowy tobogganing run was captured on video.
Cole Salsman was sledding down Ryan Street Hill with the GoPro he had just received for his 17th birthday when he hit a small jump.
At exactly the same moment, a dark shape caught the corner of his eye.
"I thought a piece of sled broke off and flew my way," he said. "But then I realized after hearing the screaming kids ... that a rat had just bounced off my knees and chest and done flips!"
The video shows the large rat scurrying out of the bushes, weaving through sleds, before attempting to leap over a speeding Salsman.
After colliding, both human and rodent managed to stick the landing and carry on.
"No injuries for me, and the rat seemed fine too, because he was on a mission to get across that hill," said the teen.
Salsman said the video has turned him into "a viral sensation."
"I posted the video and sent it off to a couple of people and went back sledding," he said. "When I came home my phone was just glitching. It's been insane."
Salsman will be returning to Ryan Street Hill with sled and camera today after learning Victoria schools are closed for a second straight snow day.
He doesn't think another rat collision is in the offing, though.
"It's just, like, a one-in-a-million chance," he said.
*This article was originally published by CBC News and written by Karin Larsen. *
