Shock as Man Finds Snakes Fighting ‘Over a Nearby Female’ in His Backyard

A video of two snakes spotted in combat in the Australian state of New South Wales has captivated users on Reddit.
The clip was shared in a post on Reddit under the username wolfweb. A caption shared with the post says, “Two Morelia spilota mcdowelli fighting in my backyard east coast Australia.”
The poster, known as Dean, did not share his full name and is a drone pilot who lives near Byron Bay, in the northern part of New South Wales. He told Newsweek: “The two snakes are fighting over a nearby female.”
The video, captured on September 28, shows the two snakes coiling themselves around each other on the side of a white-boarded structure, twisting and turning their bodies along the leaves on the ground.
Dean said the snakes “did this for about three hours” before “eventually the smaller one seemed to win as the larger one just decided to leave and the next day the smaller one was with the female.”
The poster added: “For these snakes, and most pythons, the fight is more of a ritual, not to hurt each other. They try to show who is the stronger.”
Also known as coastal carpet pythons, Morelia spilota mcdowelli are widespread in the northeastern region of New South Wales and the eastern part of Queensland, according to RSPCA Australia.
Carpet pythons, which are nonvenomous, can be found nearly everywhere in Australia except Tasmania, says Queensland’s Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
“They are secretive and well camouflaged with olive to brown skin with cream blotches which allows them to hide among leaf litter in tree hollows, logs and rocky crevices,” the department says.
Carpet pythons prefer tree dwellings and are often found in trees as well as the roofs of houses even in well-settled suburban areas, according to RSPCA Australia.
For those who may be considering having a pet carpet python, “you don’t have to worry about them getting lonely,” RSPCA Australia says, because carpet pythons are not social animals.
“In fact, keeping multiple pythons together is stressful for the snakes and causes competition for resources, preventing them from thriving. For these reasons, it’s best to house only one python per enclosure,” the animal welfare charity says.
Reddit users were amused and intrigued by the snake fight captured in the video post.
“I find it interesting that I’ve not seen a bite in a snake fight. All snakes seem to aim to pin the others head onto the ground,” said u9Nails.
User divinearcanum wrote: “It’s so funny when people envision snake fighting and it’s hissing, super fast strikes, etc. and in reality it’s….this.”
Van-garde said: “Think it’s like wrestling. Fatigue and control.”
PawkittTheDemon wrote: “Yeah this is DEFINITELY fighting. It looks hilariously uncalculated. Like giraffes swinging their necks at each other lmao.”
MsArchange said: “I’m not gonna lie, snake fighting is kinda funny.”
KiD_Keni-D asked: “Why did I find this entertaining?”
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