Red Belly Black Snakes Fighting

Red bellied black snakes fight each other only during mating season when they jostle to gain access to a female.

Jousting involves the two rivals spreading their necks and rearing up their fore-bodies and twisting their necks around each other and getting entwined during the struggle. The snakes may also hiss loudly and bite each other (they are immune to their own species' toxin).

This jostling usually lasts for less than half an hour with one of the contenders conceding defeat by leaving the area.

Red Bellied Black Snake