Two male Snouted cobras fighting, presumably over a female, are pictured to the right. Male snakes often follow the scent of a female snake in season to mate with her. Along the way, they often cross paths with other males with the same ideas in mind. The results can be quite spectacular!

Both these snakes were well in excess of a meter in length. We saw about 10 minutes of the combat but looking at the state of both the animals, it had been going on for some time.

Scientist believe that most snake species are immune to their own venom, and some harmless snake eating species, e.g. the Cape File snake, show immunity to even the most potent venoms from other species that they feed on.

Interestingly, the smaller of the two snakes was the one doing all the biting. It was also the one that seemed to submit in the end. It maintained the neck hold for most of the confrontation, the larger snake just keeping its head off the ground and hood spread. Suddenly, the smaller snake, seemingly sensing defeat and an opening, dashed off not to be seen again. The larger snake continued on his way completely unfazed by the whole ordeal.

Amazingly our vehicle was parked about 3 meters from them the whole time. Snakes are generally shy, retiring creatures that move off at the first sign of a human, but these two allowed us a brief insight into the life of a snake. It was truly one of the most memorable sightings in my career as a guide.

This entry was submitted by Mathew Harding
All the photographs were taken by Blue Resnick, a guest at Singita Lebombo Lodge
Singita Kruger National Park
Thirty-first of August 2008