After I wrote about Idyllwild cyclist Brendan Collier’s encounter with a pair of intertwined Southern Pacific rattlers on a San Jacinto Mountains route near Hurkey Creek in the Garner Valley area, I received more snake stories and images.
The dancing snakes that held their heads high above the ground, cobra style, were mating, according to Collier, owner of Hub Cyclery in Idyllwild. He eventually discovered that these were two males struggling for territory domination during mating season. Boys are going to be boys.
It was an unusual sight to see, one that only someone who spends a lot of time outside might see once in a lifetime. Ken Mello, a retired Cal Fire supervisor who resides in Pine Cove, saw the same type of rattlesnake fight on the same day I shared photos of Collier’s fighting snakes on my blog.
