Venomous cottonmouths engage in ‘vertical combat’ at Alabama campground, video shows

Two venomous cottonmouths caught staging a bizarre “dance” at an Alabama campground were actually engaged in a violent pit viper show down, according to Alabama wildlife officials.

Video shared June 12 by the Alabama Wildlife and Fisheries Division shows the snakes frantically rubbing, twisting and flipping each other in the grass at coastal Gulf State Park.

It resembled a dance but was actually something called “vertical combat,” which is how members of the species grapple “for dominance with no arms or legs,” the division said.

“What you see are two male cottonmouths battling over territory, and possibly a female waiting nearby to mate with,” Gulf State Park said in a Facebook post.

“Male snakes will engage in ‘vertical combat’, trying to reach themselves higher than the other. They will not bite each other, this fight is based on strength and agility! The winner is determined by whoever gives up first and slithers away.”

It lasted an hour, and the smaller of the two snakes is the one that gave up, according to an update from Gulf State Park.

Several commenters on Facebook noted the combat moves looked like a mating ritual. However, there is a big difference, the park said.

“The mating process for snakes is a mostly horizontal action, they do not try to reach above each other like these two,” the park posted.

“The male snake will crawl across the female and wiggle his tail end underneath her. Once he’s under her, the male will flip the tail end of his body over onto his back to complete the mating process.”

Either way, many who saw the video said they were surprised to learn cottonmouths were fighting each other in broad daylight near camping families.

“It’s horrifying,” Deanne Philen McDuffie said on the park’s Facebook page.

“We have reservations in August. Not going to lie, this makes me want to cancel,” Angela Booth posted.

“They woulda kicked me out the park for discharging a firearm,” Chase Tamondong wrote.

Cottonmouths, also known as water moccasins, grow to six feet in some parts of the country, and their venom can put people in the hospital, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

This story was originally published June 14, 2020 at 9:43 AM with the headline "Venomous cottonmouths engage in ‘vertical combat’ at Alabama campground, video shows."