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Male Rattlesnakes Entwine in Fight for Love at California's Pismo Preserve

A couple happened upon two male rattlesnakes entangled in a fight for the right to mate in Pismo Beach, California, on Monday, February 17.

Tom and Elena Georgii stumbled upon this rumble while walking at the Pismo Preserve in California’s Central Coast area and stopped to capture this video.

According to National Geographic, male rattlesnakes must fight each other for access to mate with nearby females, a process in which the males raise themselves up as high as possible to “prove” who is the biggest and strongest. The snakes then sometimes entwine and wrestle — as in this video — if one male does not concede. Despite their potent venom, however, the males do not bite each other, according to National Geographic. Credit: S. Elena Georgii via Storyful