The White Lily (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thewhitelily) wrote2008-09-17 10:06 pm
thewhitelily) wrote2008-09-17 10:06 pm
Duelling Snakes
Some of you might remember this post, a while ago, about how when I came into work The Boss had a recently-fed snake trapped under a bucket for us all to ooh and aah at.
Well, this time he had something a little more impressive.
Our first thought was that this couple were having a bit of a private moment, but it turns out that pythons fight by intertwining and attempting to crush one another. A sign of dominance is having having a higher head than the other - presumably it puts you in a better position to loop your neck around the other and start squeezing.
These two had been going at the mutual crushing for at least an hour, when the question of whether they were fighting or making baby pythons was definitively answered. The smaller one (barely seven feet, we think, tidgy thing that he was) gave up and made a run for it. The larger one pursued him all the way down the back of the house, caught him, and sank his teeth in. It really didn't look like a lovebite, and there's a whole set of bloodstains on the tiles to prove it.
The photo above is about a tenth of a second after he sunk his fangs in, after the twisting to escape had begun, and is thus not particularly impressive except in the memory it invokes.
When the smaller one had managed to slide away in shame, the larger one swanned his way around for a while, surveying his territory, having a drink from the pool and generally recouperating. He also spent a bit of time eyeing off the cat who'd been locked away in a room overlooking the area after she'd become a little too fascinated by events for her own good.
Then, during a short period when no one was watching, the big guy disappeared. Which way did he go? Who can tell? But I know I'm checking under my desk before sitting down tomorrow morning.
Well, this time he had something a little more impressive.
Our first thought was that this couple were having a bit of a private moment, but it turns out that pythons fight by intertwining and attempting to crush one another. A sign of dominance is having having a higher head than the other - presumably it puts you in a better position to loop your neck around the other and start squeezing.
These two had been going at the mutual crushing for at least an hour, when the question of whether they were fighting or making baby pythons was definitively answered. The smaller one (barely seven feet, we think, tidgy thing that he was) gave up and made a run for it. The larger one pursued him all the way down the back of the house, caught him, and sank his teeth in. It really didn't look like a lovebite, and there's a whole set of bloodstains on the tiles to prove it.
The photo above is about a tenth of a second after he sunk his fangs in, after the twisting to escape had begun, and is thus not particularly impressive except in the memory it invokes.
When the smaller one had managed to slide away in shame, the larger one swanned his way around for a while, surveying his territory, having a drink from the pool and generally recouperating. He also spent a bit of time eyeing off the cat who'd been locked away in a room overlooking the area after she'd become a little too fascinated by events for her own good.
Then, during a short period when no one was watching, the big guy disappeared. Which way did he go? Who can tell? But I know I'm checking under my desk before sitting down tomorrow morning.