‘Who fights in a cactus patch?’ Texas rattlesnakes caught brawling atop prickly pears
A Texas woman says two male rattlesnakes spoiled her day of bow hunting, after they started fighting over a female below her tree stand.
Worse still, it all played out rather uncomfortably among the barbed bristles of a prickly pear cactus patch.
Video of the fight was shared on Facebook Monday by Texas Parks and Wildlife, and it clearly had viewers shaking their heads over what some guys will do for love.
“Helluva spot for a fight,” Brian Emch wrote.
“Ain’t no female worth that pain,” Kassandra Rose added.
Leanna Dunk Gray of Abilene recorded the 19-second video, and she posted the snakes “ended up ruining the first day of bow season for me. ... I did not stick around.” Gray says she filmed the snakes from a tree stand in the San Angelo area, about 230 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Bow season for deer started Oct. 3 in Texas, but it’s not clear when Gray recorded the video.
Some Facebook commenters suggested the two large snakes were actually a mating couple. However, Texas wildlife officials say it was definitely two males fighting over a female, which indicates Gray had some reason for concern.
When two male rattlesnakes start fighting, “a third snake, which is female, will be somewhere nearby,” RattlesnakeSolutions.com reports.
“If two male rattlesnakes meet while tracking a female rattlesnake, they may begin this combat. The males will raise their heads up together and begin to wrestle. They’ll twist together and try to knock each other against the ground,’ Rattlesnake Solutions reports.
The fact that a female is nowhere to be seen in the video prompted a lot of jokes on social media.
“The least she could (do) would be to stick around,” Rebecca Sherman posted.
“She slithered on off, she didn’t want to be with either one. Who fights in a cactus patch,” Alice Reynolds added.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 4:06 PM with the headline "‘Who fights in a cactus patch?’ Texas rattlesnakes caught brawling atop prickly pears."