Are These St. Louis, Missouri Copperheads Fighting or Loving?

Sometimes nature just happens before your very eyes. That's what happened for a hiker in St. Louis, Missouri as they came across two very venomous Copperhead snakes that were either fighting or making a love connection and it's hard to determine which.

This video was just captured days ago on August 25, 2024 in St. Louis, Missouri with the following backstory:

"We were finishing up our hike and noticed two snakes up ahead. We cautiously approached and were amazed to see what we assumed were two snakes mating or perhaps fighting. A passerby alerted us to be careful as these were Copperhead snakes and are venomous."

Was this a battle or...something else? Watch and decide.

I'm certainly no expert in snake husbandry (or any kind of husbandry actually), but this looks like a loving moment and not a fight. If I'm not mistaken, copperhead fights normally involve fangs and this seems to involve...something else.

I did some research of my own and found this.

I might be wrong about my loving theory as some experts from the University of Georgia Southern show a similar looking video which they say is two males fighting over a woman (snake).

No matter which result it is, you don't want to be near two Copperhead snakes having an emotional crisis. That's all I know for sure.