The United States Geological Survey ’s @USGS_SeismicTwitter account is the good place on the world all-inclusive web for intelligence and updates about temblor and other seismic body process around the world . If you want to experience aboutglacial seismological activity , and why would n’t you , it ’s bring you cover . This morning , however , things change . Whomever is the master of this accounting posted the watch over short .gif of these two snake , mire in , uh , well I ’m not sure .
Rattlesnakes wrestle at the USGS Albuquerque Seismic Lab yesterday.#WildlifeWednesday@USGSWILDLIFEpic.twitter.com/T9XqlOEuCv
— USGS_Seismic ( @usgs_seismic)August 10 , 2016
I ’m only here for the earthquake stuff , not the snake stuff , but I ca n’t tell if these snakes are struggle or doing it . As a member of the Gawker Media blog with the most experience in coveringsnake fucking , I seek out answer . Here is what I learned .
A video entitled “ Snake mating ” was published four years ago , and it come out to show the ophidian winding themselves into a gyre , just as our acquaintance up top are . However , there are many serpent species across this dark-green Earth ( I can name like nine of them , not to brag ) , so we need some rattlesnake - specific results to make this cogitation more rigorous .
National Geographic published a television in 2008 about rattler fucking , and in it , the host notes that two competing male snake stretch themselves out , Exeggutor elan , to see whose scaly body is longsighted for domination reason . Could be that the two Snake at the beginning of this investigating were struggle for fucking reason . However , Nat Geo does just about the worst thing potential and only shows the actual penetration without any of the coiling that could help us .
I do n’t know how much to desire the sexual validity ofthis 2007 video recording , but it appears to show two snakes in a intimate congress that looks not unlike what the USGS snakes are up to . However , neither of the coupling ophidian got as violent as the USGS snakes , so I continue skeptical that they were doin’ it . Avideo of rattlesnakes fightinglooked much more like the behaviour exhibited in the television that start up this whole thing .
I askedUC Santa Barbara herpetologist Sam Sweetabout the video , and he told me that , yep , these are two swell snakes who are struggle for domination . on the face of it , rattler in combat can press their way right over a sleeping person without discontinue or anything .
Those are western diamondback ratttlesnakes ( Crotalus atrox ) , two males involved in a combat ritual that set up a pecking order during pairing season . The target is for one Hydra to throw the other ’s principal downwardly and eventually to weightlift the also-ran to the land for a short metre . Usually the longer ( larger ) snake can reach a little higher and win , but Snake River well - match in size of it can go on like this for several hours , and even repeatedly over several days until there is a clear victor . Snakes never bite each other during these bouts , and it is uncommon that one is bruise ( other than pride ) . Snake do recognize other individuals , and the results of a engagement will probably last at least one season . Combatting snakes usually ignore their surroundings and will fight right over a person lie on the ground without any consequences .
Hope that aid .
There you have it . The snakes are n’t fucking .
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