Four Whip Snakes In Mating Ball

Incredible footage shows three male snakes trying to mate with a single female. The randy reptiles were seen writhing around on a branch in Kranji, Singapore, on February 3. The four green Oriental Whip Snakes were wrapped up in a 'mating ball', a kinky natural ritual in the snake world that sees several males tussle for position on the female. Local wildlife enthusiast Naomi Kim captured the scene. She said: "This is what I saw on one of my walks today. A very spectacular sight." During the unusual method of intercourse, the female snake decides when to to open her 'cloaca' to whichever male is the strongest. However, she can then use her genital contractions to cut short the tryst if she's not comfortable. ''The strongest or most persistent male is probably the one that would eventually mate with the female, thereby producing stronger offspring,'' said Mark O'Shea from the University of Wolverhampton in the UK during a study into snake mating balls in 2016.