2 Male Black Mambas Engage in Vicious Brawl To Win a Female Mate; What Is Snake’s Combat Dance?

Two black male mambas were in full combat mode. According to a report, they were battling for a female mate.

Black Mambas Battle for a Female Mate

Flippie Nortje discovered something peculiar while traveling across the land that belonged to his family. Two deadly black mambas were writhing around each other in a furious fight in front of him on the dirt track.

Nortje told Newsweek that he was shocked upon seeing the two serpents rolling out of the grass in front of his car. The snakes twisted quickly, and he could hear their scales scraping against one another. When they landed, they also made a hissing and a slapping sound.

Nortje pulled out his phone and started filming the reptiles in combat. The two snakes were in the present moment, unconcerned with what was happening around them. He exited his car and cautiously approached them, keeping a safe distance between them. He filmed the vicious encounter between the two male black mambas while his heart pounded.

According to National Geographic, black mambas are the longest venomous snake in Africa and can grow up to 14 feet in length. Additionally, they are among the world's fastest snake species, at top speeds of 12.5 miles per hour.

Mambas are swift and lethal, and he kept thinking about that as he approached them. However, he also knew that what was happening before him was rare.

To mate, male snakes follow the scent of a female, but this frequently leads to numerous suitors showing up at the same location. The males will compete for the female in these circumstances by encircling one another until one gives way to the other.

According to snake rescuer Nick Evans in a post on Facebook in June 2022, the snakes don't kill each other. Instead, it's merely a wrestling fight until one of them gives up and leaves.

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What Is Snake Combat Dance?

The encounter between the two black mambas could be what some call the combat dance. In this event, two competitive male snakes engage themselves in a battle for the acquisition of females during the breeding season, per Britannica. As in the courtship dance, the front of the bodies entwine and are raised higher and higher off the ground until finally; one snake defeats the other.

During the act, two snakes coil around each other to prove who is the strongest in the pack. They dance by wrapping around each other and raising their upper bodies to attempt the other, Smithsonian Magazine added.

While combat dance establishes a dominant individual temporarily, there is no indication that either snake retains awareness of this dominance. A dominance that must be reestablished at every encounter does not contribute to a social structure.