Fox43LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa.– A pair of venomous snakes were caught mating on film this weekend on a local bike trail.
According to the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary, the two copperhead snakes were on a Lancaster County bike trail this weekend when their tails became intertwined in an embrace.
The above video shows Jesse Rothacker filming the copulating copperheads up close and illustrating how they mate.
“Finding the snakes along the trail is very common,” Rothacker told FOX43. “Finding the snakes actually getting jiggy with it is very hard to find in the wild, so I talked to many of my herpetology colleagues, and many confirm, they have not seen copperheads doing the deed, so we’re very fortunate to run into them at that time.”
Rothacker says he prefers to call the copperheads a pair of “serpent sweethearts”.
Below are a few facts on venomous snakes:
- Copperheads are found all across Pennsylvania, and are the only venomous snake in Lancaster County.
- Venomous snake bites occur about 6000-7000 times annually in the United States, and copperheads are involved in more bites than any other snake.
- As seen in this video, copperheads will not bother you if you leave them alone. But while most snakes are known to be Spring breeders, some snakes including Copperheads have a second fall breeding season.