Venomous Snakes

[Tshokwane]

From Kruger Sightings:
Two mambas wrestle it out in a mesmerising show of dominance.

The act is a form of pre-mating ritual, whereby the males battle to show their dominance over another and win the females companionship.

 
Plaiting their bodies together as they wrap themselves around the other, the males look to force their rival towards the ground. The act is known as male combat - but the two snakes do not injure or bite one another.
 
Kirstie, who was on a safari to Pilansberg National Park in North West Province, said: 'I was fascinated.  As you can hear from the soundtrack, there was some debate as to whether they were mating or fighting.  It almost looks like they are plaiting their bodies around each other.  it was mesmerising.'
 
Kirstie and her group were parked around 15 metres from the mambas when the pair slithered into the road ahead of their vehicle. 
 
She added: 'As we came around the corner in the road that leads to the viewpoint, I saw something out of the corner of my eye and stopped the car.  
 
'What I had seen was the two snakes just moving into the road. For the first time in my life I thought to hit the video button on my camera.  
 
'What you see on the video is the duration of what we saw, they moved into the bushes on the other side of the road and we lost sight of them.'
When Kirstie got home, she then submitted the video to Latest Sightings' Film and Earn Program.
 
Black mambas’ venom is highly toxic, commonly causing a human bitten by them to collapse within 45 minutes of a single bite. This has led to them being regarded one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa.
 
However, attacks on humans are rare, as black mambas tend to avoid confrontation.

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