Wild images of two enormous carpet pythons battling over another female snake have been caught on video in Australia. Tony, from Gold Coast and Brisbane Snake Catcher in Australia, filmed the huge reptiles tangled up fighting just feet away.
The experienced snake catcher said the scene is frequently mistaken as two snakes mating. However, the two males were actually wrapped around one another hoping to win a chance of mating with the female.
In the video, the equally-sized carpet pythons twist and turn their bodies and practically stand up as they standoff with one another. The snakes almost look like they’re dancing together as they hiss loudly and wrestle to impress the female.
Tony posted the video to the company’s Facebook page on Wednesday, and shared some pictures on their Instagram account.
More Details On the Pythons and Their Battle
“There is a female nearby. The biggest, fattest one will win every time,” snake catcher Tony says in the video. “They will stand tall and look each other down, trying to make themselves look tough until one gives up. And that decides ‘you win because you are stronger’.”
There’s no guarantee the winner of the fight will be able to mate with the female. However, Tony did add that one of the two snakes will at least get a chance to “hang around” with the female afterwards.
The pythons in the video are both around seven-feet-long, and Tony says their battle could “go on for minutes or days.” If the battle intensifies, the pythons will bite each other leaving injuries to the body and the head.
As Tony speaks in the video, one of the snakes retreats to leave the winner free to find the female snake.
The video has more than 10,000 views on Facebook, and viewers praised Tony for the useful information in the comment section.
Facebook user Tracey Jane Barnes commented on the video, “So amazing to watch… Thank you for sharing.”
“Love your terminolgy Tony! Cracks me up!,” said Facebook user Nicolle Wilby.
Finally, Facebook user Irene Kelly wrote, “Thanks for explaining this behavior…I didn’t know this.”
This is the second pair of pythons that were fighting over a female this week in Australia. At least this time the two snakes didn’t fall through a homeowner’s ceiling.
[H/T Daily Star]
