by Tutu Akinlabi

A small town in Canada has thousands of unlikely visitors every year as a horde of snakes visits the area to perform mating rites.

The male red-sided garter snakes of Manitoba climb on the females and form ‘mating balls’ sometimes with dozens of males chasing after one female.

The mating occurs in pits during spring when the weather gets warm and the snakes come out in their thousands.

The best place to see this amazing sight is in the Narcisse Snake Dens of Manitoba in Canada.

More photos below:

No time to lose: Once the females slowly start to emerge, the males pounce

Clamoring males pursue a female by the dozens

Scent of a woman: The females eventually shake the males by rolling until they fall off, but the males still try to pursue her as her sex pheromones drive them mad