Red-bellied black snake showdown caught on camera in wild video

A snake “wrestling match” has been captured on camera due to a chance encounter on the Mid-North Coast of NSW.

Nature lover Karin Hocking has had her fair share of snake sightings but this one was so mesmerising* she decided to film it from a safe distance.

The Old Bar resident was out for a walk in the coastal town near Taree, about 325 km north of Sydney, when she was stopped in her tracks by two venomous* red-bellied black snakes tangled up in a wrestling match.

“I was actually calm compared to other sightings and encounters I’ve had in the past – I was just amazed at what I was seeing,” Ms Hocking said. “It certainly was amazing. They were huge.”

Describing herself as a “nature person”, Ms Hocking said she felt privileged to come across such a rare sight and shared the video on social media a few weeks later.

“It was kind of mesmerising,” she said. “I would have loved to see the outcome, but they just kept at it so I went home.”

Snake expert Jayden Patterson from Taree’s Reptile Relocation said the footage showed two male snakes battling it out during breeding season*.

“They are two mature males combating* for a nearby female for breeding rights – these two are not mating,” he said.

Mr Patterson confirmed the pair in the video were red-bellied black snakes – his favourite species.

He said those caught on camera by Ms Hocking were particularly “beautiful specimens”.

But he warned the snakes were “highly venomous and capable of a serious bite if handled or harassed”.

Red-bellied black snakes are one of the most commonly sighted snakes on the East Coast and are responsible for a number of bites every year, the Australian Museum states on its website.

Red-bellied black snakes are not the only snake to display unusual breeding behaviour. Pythons create large “breeding balls” by huddling together in a seething mass of dozens of male snakes all trying to breed with one female.

One breeding ball was caught on camera by Wauchope’s Kayle Wilson in October last year, as reported by The Mid-North Coast News.

Breeding balls are not just formed by snakes. Toads, bees and wasps also huddle together in a similar way.

Back in Taree, Ms Hocking said she spent about three decades living in rural northern Queensland, surrounded by sugarcane fields, where she had a number of heart-stopping close calls riding her bike to work at one of the local farms.

“I lived in a little rural place called Giru, with a population of approximately 300, and many a snake was to be seen,” she said.

Once she even ditched her bike and ran when she came across a huge brown snake.

“Then there was the time I was running late and was riding very fast when a huge black snake was across the path – well, my feet went in the air as I rode over him, heart pumping.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• mesmerising: capturing someone’s complete attention
• venomous: poisonous
• breeding season: the time of year when snakes breed, or reproduce, usually between September and April in Australia
• combating: fighting

EXTRA READING
Bird versus snake – who will win?
Big-bellied snake goes viral
What you need to know this snake season

QUICK QUIZ
1. Which species of snake did Karin Hocking film wrestling?
2. Why were the two snakes fighting?
3. What is a “breeding ball”?
4. Which species of animals perform breeding balls?
5. Where in Australia were the fighting snakes spotted?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Snake safety
In the news story, Mr Patterson warned that the snakes were “highly venomous and capable of a serious bite if handled or harassed.” Would you know what to do if you encountered a snake? Research and write to describe how humans should react to snake sightings in order to stay safe.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Present the key ideas you learnt (while researching for the main activity) as a safety sign that could be displayed at the entrance to national parks. Try to make your message clear, even for park visitors who may not read English.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?

Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.