A man in California had an unexpected moment during his morning drive when he came across two large rattlesnakes engaged in a fierce struggle in the middle of the road.
Anthony Damore was heading to work around 10 a.m. on Monday when he noticed the snakes writhing on the asphalt close to a storm drain in Thousand Oaks. The sight of the venomous snakes coiling around each other produced a rather surreal image.
In a video captured during the encounter, the two snakes can be seen towering over one another at the roadside.
“These were two sizeable rattlesnakes putting on some kind of display of dominance,” Damore remarked, noting that onlookers suggested it was likely a mating ritual between competing males.
“I’ve never witnessed rattlesnakes behaving like this, let alone two at the same time,” he added.
This unsettling incident is part of a notable uptick in rattlesnake activity across California this year.
Earlier this week, in Santa Clarita Valley, Linda Martin sustained a bite on her leg while she was barefoot and tending to her rose bushes, inadvertently disturbing a rattlesnake concealed underneath.
“When I lifted the bushes, that’s when I spotted the rattle,” Martin recounted, as she shared her experience.
She described feeling the effects of the venom almost immediately. “Within 30 to 45 seconds, a tingling sensation started in my fingertips and quickly spread to my jaw, cheeks, and tongue,” Martin said.
Despite her attempts to call 911 multiple times without success, her husband quickly took her to the hospital, where she received life-saving anti-venom after a quick drive.
“I tried calling again, but couldn’t get through,” she said. “By the third attempt, my husband just said, ‘Get in the car.’
“If my husband hadn’t been home, I really don’t know what would have happened,” Martin added.
Officials predict that rattlesnake bites in California could rise by approximately 20% this year, largely due to an unusually warm spring that prompted the snakes to come out of hibernation earlier than normal.
