The palm tree video is going viral after several people filming the incident witness the arborist swaying wildly 100 feet in the air. Chances are – you’ve never seen anything quite like this.
According to video uploader Viral Hog, the incident takes place in San Bernardino, California. The man climbing the tree is, thankfully, a highly-skilled arborist. Otherwise, well – there’s no way he would have survived this.
The California arborist climbs the incredibly tall tree to cut the top off. The palm has become a danger to those living and walking nearby. When giant palms lean so heavily to the side, they threaten to drop a massive amount of weight onto whatever sits below.
Video of Palm Tree Cowboy goes viral
Two separate videos of this incredible feat have surfaced online. The first is going viral on twitter and has almost 7 million views in just a few days.
Within both, the arborist can be seen scaling to the very tip of the arched tree. The palm, estimated to be 100 feet in height, has a severe case of top-heaviness.
Without so much as a second thought, the arborist makes his way to the head of the palm – and chops it clean off. What follows, however, has to be seen to be believed:
Separate angle shows death-defying tree stunt
While the man trimming the palm tree is clearly a professional, this makes the video no less intense to watch. Nothing short of bungee-jumping could replicate this sort of unbelievable death-defiance.
As is the case with bungee jumping, the arborist has likely strapped himself to the tree. Otherwise, he would be thrown clear off from the force of the palm swinging back. Dropping that much weight – several hundred pounds – from the top of a tree creates a massive amount of inertia. Without strapping himself in, this “stunt” would’ve ended much, much differently.
Check out the second video here.
[H/T Twitter]
