Mississippi

‘I was amazed by it.’ Rattlesnakes fighting captured on video in Mississippi

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2024

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‘I was amazed by it.’ Rattlesnakes fighting captured on video in Mississippi

‘I’ve never seen it before. It was definitely unique to watch. It’s probably at the top of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.’

A man from Mississippi said he sees hundreds of timber rattlesnakes each year, but what he came across on Tuesday afternoon while working at his home was nothing short of amazing.

“I was cutting my grass,” said Paul Rhodes of Como, a small town about 45 minutes South of Memphis. “We have a trail that goes back to a deer stand and I keep it cut.

“They were out there in the middle of the lane out in the wide open. There were two of them when I first saw them.”

What he saw was two timber rattlesnakes fighting and it was something he’d never seen before. He didn’t have his phone with him, so he just watched. After a few minutes, he decided to go get his phone to shoot video and when he returned, the event became even more unusual.

“When I came back and started recording, a third one came into the frame,” Rhodes said. “From what it sounds like, seeing three of them together is pretty rare.

“I was amazed by it. I’ve never seen it before. It was definitely unique to watch. It’s probably at the top of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

From beautiful to freakish: Here are 4 of the most bizarre snakes found in Mississippi

Letting rattlesnakes do what rattlesnakes do

After shooting video, Rhodes went back to work and that’s when he noticed something else unusual.

“I drove the mower right by them and they never checked up,” Rhodes said. “They paid me no attention.”

Rhodes said he finished mowing and came back. The snakes were still fighting. At some point, he said the largest snake crawled away, but two continued to fight. Rhodes said he decided to leave and let them fight it out without him.

“I had a lot of people say, ‘Why didn’t you kill them,’” Rhodes said. “They were just doing their thing in their environment.”

And that environment seems to be full of them. Rhodes said where he lives, timber rattlesnakes are basically a part of daily life.

“We see hundreds and hundreds a year,” Rhodes said. “They’re just everywhere.”

What kind of snake is that? Ten of the more common you’ll likely see in Mississippi

Why do rattlesnakes fight?

Rhodes said when he first saw the snakes, he thought they were mating, but as he watched he determined the behavior was too aggressive. Colt Mooney, a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks biologist with extensive knowledge of reptiles, confirmed Rhodes’ thinking.

“People often confuse it for mating, but it’s not,” Mooney said.

What Rhodes captured on video was male snakes establishing dominance for breeding rights. Mooney said timber rattlesnakes and other Mississippi pit vipers primarily breed during August through fall, so this is when most of fighting takes place. He said the snakes don’t hurt each other, they’re just trying to prove who’s the boss.

“I call it full-body thumb wrestling since they don’t have arms,” Mooney said. “The first one to tire loses.”

The snakes ignoring Rhodes isn’t uncommon. Mooney said when they’re fighting, snakes are totally focused on the battle and basically oblivious to what’s going on around them. He said what is uncommon is witnessing three of them in combat. For Rhodes, it was unusual enough that he isn’t likely to forget it.

“It will stay with me a long time,” Rhodes said. “It was definitely unique and cool to watch.”

Mississippi venomous snakes: How to identify them and what to do, and not do, if bitten

Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.

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Mississippi

How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

Published

9 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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How Mississippi State’s Tomas Valincius dominated third straight SEC team vs Ole Miss

OXFORD — Tomas Valincius struck out top Ole Miss baseball batter Tristan Bissetta looking on his last pitch of the game.

There was no emotion from the Mississippi State starting pitcher as he walked back to the dugout after Bissetta was the fourth straight Ole Miss batter to strike out.

It was another instance of Valincius, the left-handed Virginia transfer, showing a trait that’s made him such a dominant pitcher for the No. 4 Bulldogs. The longer Valincius pitches, the better he gets.

The sophomore pitched another five shutout innings as MSU (23-4, 5-2 SEC) took down No. 18 Ole Miss, 6-1, at Swayze Field on March 28 to win the series.

“It’s all mental,” Valincius said. “Just going out there and just kind of trusting yourself and all the work you put in throughout the week. And even when you don’t have your stuff, it’s still a war between every battle in every inning. It’s kind of like finding a way to do what you can do with what you got.”

The win clinched the Bulldogs’ ninth series against the Rebels (19-9, 3-5) in the last 10 meetings. Another win March 29 (3 p.m., SEC Network) would make Brian O’Connor the third straight first-year MSU coach to sweep Ole Miss.

Valincius (6-0) hasn’t allowed an earned run in 19 SEC innings and his season ERA dropped to 0.91.

Against the Rebels, one game after striking out a career-high 14 batters against Vanderbilt, Valincius recorded nine strikeouts with three hits, two walks and one hit by pitch in 90 pitches.

“He buckled down when runners were in scoring position,” O’Connor said. “He’s always best in his middle innings. You see him just rise his game up.”

Why Tomas Valincius could’ve done even better against Ole Miss

While the Ole Miss game was Valincius’ third SEC start without allowing an earned run, it was his shortest outing of the three. The other two against Arkansas and Vanderbilt both lasted seven innings.

Valincius stranded six Ole Miss batters on base in his five innings.

“Early on, I didn’t really feel like I had anything going,” Valincius said. “I was kind of just finding a way to win. That was kind of my whole approach throughout the whole game. I couldn’t really figure out the slider and fastball command. It wasn’t working a lot. I just found a way to win.”

Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

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Mississippi

Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

Published

21 hours ago

March 28, 2026

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Mother, her 2 daughters among 5 killed in collision between train and van

STONE COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX/Gray News) — Multiple people were killed in a crash between a train and a van on Friday afternoon in Mississippi.

Stone County Sheriff Todd Stewart said the crash happened around 1 p.m. on Pump Branch Road. First responders had to cut through the woods to get to the wreckage.

There were six people in the van at the time of the crash, Stewart said. Stone County Coroner Wayne Flurry confirmed five of them died in the crash.

Multiple people are dead after a crash between a train and a van in Mississippi. (WLOX)

The sixth person was airlifted to New Orleans.

The five victims were identified as 26-year-old Ryan C. Peterson, who was a corrections officer with the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department, 23-year-old Demarcus Perkins, 45-year-old Kristina Carver, and Carver’s two daughters, 22-year-old Emley Chamblee and 20-year-old Sarabeth Chamblee.

Nearby resident Pam Olson has been sounding the alarm on the Pump Branch Road railroad crossing for some time. She was tending to her garden with her husband when the sound of screeching brakes made them jolt.

“We heard it,” explained Olson. “My husband and I were in the yard working on our flowerbeds. I told my husband a train hit another vehicle. My husband ran up there and said, ‘Pam, it’s bad.’”

A recent report from the Stone County Enterprise outlines another wreck in the same spot, which resulted in the driver of a pickup truck being airlifted. Stewart also pointed out a fatal train accident in Stone County happened at the location in 2023, claiming the life of a Wiggins woman.

“This’d be the second incident in the last four to five weeks involving fatalities and the third incident in the last year, all involving fatalities,” explained Stewart. “To date, we’ve lost seven folks within the last year.”

The crossing does not have crossing arms or lights. Stone County District 1 Supervisor Jimmy Springs said he previously reached out to Mississippi Department of Transportation railroad engineers and was told crossing arms are on the way for two crossings, including the one at Pump Branch Road. However, it could take a year for them to be installed.

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CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

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CLASH Endurance triathlon begins on Mississippi Gulf Coast

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) — The CLASH Endurance triathlon officially started along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.

“I placed first, so I’m pretty stoked about that,” Reilly said.

Winning a triathlon means beating competitors from across the country and around the world in swimming, biking and running.

“Definitely a lot of hours goes into the sport, but the actual race was tough. It was like full gas, swim, bike, and run, so over an hour. And I’m excited to be able to be done and take home the win,” Reilly said.

Maya Reilly placed first in the collegiate female draft-legal division.(WLOX)

Athletes praise Gulf Coast hospitality

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.

“I have had such a great time down here in the south. It’s, like, the nicest people I’ve ever met. The culture is amazing. The music’s great. The food’s great. Honestly, nothing but positive for me. It’s awesome,” said Annette Zavala of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

“I really like this course. It was really cool to see them swim in the marina. The course was very accessible to view, which I really appreciated,” said Sophia Najera of the UC Davis Triathlon Team.

It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the... — It’s CLASH Endurance’s first year on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and athletes say the experience is just as memorable as the competition.(WLOX)

More than 28 countries and all 50 states are represented, bringing a boost to the coastal economy.

“All of the athletes who are visiting coastal Mississippi, they’re staying in the hotels, they’re visiting the restaurants, they’re shopping, and they’re not just staying for a night or two. Some of them are staying and playing,” said Blair Lahaye, CLASH Endurance vice president of communications.

Athletes say it’s the support from the crowd and each other that pushes them across the finish line.

“You might have the worst mindset out there, but just hearing someone believe in you, like, that’s sometimes all you need to move forward,” Zavala said.

“I could not have gone through half the races I did, half the trainings I did, without the support of my teammates. We’re really excited to come race tomorrow, and we were super glad to get to be able to cheer on our teammates today,” Najera said.