‘Don’t snap, I’m just trying to help’: Wildlife lover’s pelican rescue goes pear-shaped

A Victorian woman’s attempt to rescue a pelican has snapped back at her in the face yesterday morning.

Anna Killeen and her boyfriend, Paul Blake, were photographing wildlife in Rutherglen, Victoria, when they spotted the bird trapped in a barbed wire fence.

Ms Killeen rushed to the bird’s aid as Mr Blake watched on, but her goodwill gesture soon took a turn for the painful.

“She actually freed the bird holding the beak and tried to drag it away from the fence and in doing that, that's when it grabbed her by the head,” Mr Blake said.

He told 9NEWS he wasn’t too worried for Ms Killeen’s safety, until her head disappeared into the pelican’s mouth.

“They’re a pretty big bird, and I was a little bit concerned about the hook on the beak, that’s quite a large hook...but gee whiz we’re lucky she’s very lucky.”

Images obtained by 9NEWS showed Ms Killeen’s face deep in the pelican’s mouth as it flapped its wide wings.

Freed from the wire, the snappy bird decided to give his saviour another “parting gift.”

“He bit me on the bottom as he was leaving, as a last minute thank-you,” Ms Killeen told 9NEWS.

“I’m now sporting a face that looks like I’ve been exfoliating with a cheese grater, and a big bruise on my temple.”

She said that after the botched rescue she hopes she doesn’t see the pelican again.

“No, I won’t be exerting myself next time, I’ll just wave to him and say ‘Good luck mate’.”