The male to male combat in snakes is usually described as "ritualised", with the two males just wrestling
in accordance with some given rules of the game, without ever trying to really harm each other. No teeth
allowed...
However, sometimes it may get a little bit rougher than that...
The following photos were taken by the ornithologist Andrej Radalj from Rijeka on the island of Krk (Croatia)
on the 10th of June 2012.
The two Hierophis viridiflavus carbonarius males were biting each other quite fiercely, "like mad dogs",
says Andrej. Nevertheless, I wouldn't regard this as an instance of a so called "escalated combat", in
which the participants try to harm or even kill the rival. I would rather ascribe it to the well-known
specific temperament of the particular (sub)species.
Any other opinions or, possibly, experiences?