Bronx Zoo Cobra Found Alive!

The missing Bronx Zoo cobra has been found.Zoo officials say the snake was found Thursday morning in the zoo's Reptile House, nearly a week after it went missing. The Egyptian cobra was found coiled in a dark corner of the reptile house and zoo director Jim Breheny says she is in good health.The zoo's Reptile House had closed last Friday after the snake disappeared and zoo workers couldn't find it.The snake was captured at about 9 a.m. Thursday.

Wood shavings that had been used as bedding for rats and mice were put out to lure the 3-ounce adolescent snake out of hiding, said Breheny, who explained that "snakes hunt by olfactory means.""It was merely the scent of the rodents that we hoped would bring her out," he said.Zoo workers also worked to reduce noise and dimmed the lights to make the environment more comforting, he said, adding that the key strategy was patience.

We had to give her a chance to feel secure and comfortable so she would come out and explore her environment," he said.He did not explain exactly how the staff captured the snake but said workers who deal with venomous snakes typically use special tongs and a tool called a snake hook.

Breheny said the zoo is investigating how the snake escaped and evaluating its protocols to make sure it doesn't happen again. Zoo officials hope to reopen the reptile house next week.Meanwhile, BronxZoosCobra on Twitter had stopped posting messages sometime Thursday."Oh, this isn't over," the person wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press in response to a request for comment on the capture of the snake.

"They have only awakened the Bronx Zoo's Cobra nation."Breheny said the snake was "resting comfortably and secure" and was being evaluated to make sure she was in good condition.He said zoo workers put out wood chips that had been used as bedding for mice in order to lure the 3-ounce snake out of hiding.



"We were fairly confident that she would come out and she did," Breheny said.
Breheny said the zoo is evaluating its protocols to make sure the snake doesn't escape again. Zoo officials hope to reopen the reptile house next week.