Neighbour captures dramatic moment girl is attacked by a goose

[A goose attack that was captured in stills has gone viral / Twitter]

A large goose recently lashed out at a young girl, and the incredible photos snapped at the exact moment of the attack have gone viral on social media.

We usually think of birds as delightful, twittery things that flit about harmlessly, filling the air with song. But once in while, those beasts of the air can get angry, and when they attack, things get ugly — just ask Hitchcock.

Five-year-old Summer Gidden went for a walk on Sunday with her 17-year-old sister Stevie and their two other brothers and sisters. The gang decided to go check out some baby geese that were in the neighbourhood.

It would appear that the group of siblings got a hair too close to the mother and her brood, because before the group knew what was happening, mom went into full-on attack mode.

Her older siblings managed to escape the bird’s wrath, but Summer wasn’t quick enough. A neighbour snapped two photos at the exact moment of the attack, while another neighbour came to Summer’s aid, according to BuzzFeed.

Stevie shared the neighbour’s photos on Twitter:

They’ve since been liked more than 60,000 times, which is actually a little bit alarming. Still, there were also many who expressed concern for Summer and the fact the Internet seemed to be having a laugh at her expense:

But according to Stevie, Summer is fine and actually pretty excited about her Internet fame. “That’s the only thing she’s talked about today,” Stevie told BuzzFeed.

Let’s just hope that her next encounter with nature is a little more tranquil.