Yesterday
afternoon, I received a call from my friend Sivanandam asking me to come immediately
to his agricultural farm with camera to capture the 'Mate Dance' of snakes.
Within minutes I reached the spot, but was quite disappointed as I could not
find snakes as they moved into bushes.
But my friend was quite confident and insisted me to stay for a
while and searched for it through the bushes. He whispered me to come closer
and there was a memorable moment of photography for me.
There
is a common misconception of this sight as
'mating dance' of cobras. This dance is a battle for male superiority and determines which male rat snake mates with
a female.
Rat
snake combat dance is a
unique behaviour unknown in any other snake species in South Asia. The Rat
snakes are the most common snakes found
in the hills and plains throughout India and can grow up to eight feet long.
They perform combat dance as a test of strength and to establish their dominance in the territory.
The snakes
intertwine their bodies, coil around each other and try to crawl over another
male in the form of a spiral staircase.
Their swirl movements are synchronised with great speed.
Each snake try to prove its dominance by pushing another's head down and try to climb over another.
Each snake try to prove its dominance by pushing another's head down and try to climb over another.
Though
termed as combat, they act in a more calm, graceful, rhythmic, non-agressive
manner.
They raise their bodies to the height of 3-4 feet from the
ground and this act may last for 1/2 hour to 2 hours.
And the winner of this combat will mate with the female!
And the winner of this combat will mate with the female!
Finally, the dominant snake established its dominance by keeping his
head high over his competitor and both silently moved away.
Though this ritual was exciting to watch, it is equally
dangerous - if disturbed.
