Posted on 03/31/2011 3:34:38 PM PDT by EinNYC
Snakes alive! - the cobra has been found.
The Bronx Zoo's escaped snake was snared in the House of Reptiles on Thursday, six days after she slithered out of her enclosure.
"We found our snake and we're very happy," Jim Breheny, the zoo's director, told the Daily News.
The fanged fugitive was spotted coiled in a corner around 9 a.m., during one of three daily sweeps by a half-dozen zoo workers.
Using special tongs and hooks, they easily apprehended the deadly Egyptian cobra, which is now under observation.
"We knew it was going to be a game of patience. We set the place up to make it easier to search," Breheny said.
Contrary to one report, the zoo did not set any traps with mice for the snake. It simply kept the Reptile House dark and quiet.
"We wanted to just let her feel comfortable," he said. "We did everything we could to help her feel secure."
The snake escaped from a fiberglass box with a sliding glass front while no one was around.
"Clearly she finagled her way out of the enclosure," Breheny said of the cold-blooded Houdini.
Zoo officials are now reviewing the safety of the enclosures and plan to reopen the Reptile House soon.
The cobra will eventually go on exhibit - which should be a big draw, given its notoriety.
The hunt for the missing adolescent made headlines across the globe and prompted either anxiety or amusement from New Yorkers.
An anonymous wit even created a Twitter feed chronicling the reptile's made-up misadventures - and picked up nearly 200,000 followers, from Mayor Bloomberg to Ellen DeGeneres.
All along, zoo officials said they were confident the pencil-thin 20-inch-long reptile was still somewhere in the House of Reptiles, not roaming the city.
I hate zoos.
Go ahead, all the self righteous now can flame me away about how impt they are.
I hate zoos. I hate the circus too.
I hate beets.
“Snakes. It had to be snakes.”
A great movie line....
“I hate zoos. I hate the circus too.”
I’m with you. I’d rather see money put into REAL preservation of species in their NATURAL habitat. BUT, if an animal is on it’s way to extinction anyway, and is displacing people, I don’t mind it being in a zoo, versus government stealing LAND from property owners to protect a flea or a fly or a mouse.
It’s a fine line on some of these things...
I see that you’re still recovering. Try pulling your head down between your legs and taking some deep breaths. Should improve your shitty outlook on life.
Flame away...next time try to be more clever.
“recovering “means was a “hippie”, ( like David Horowitz) now a conservative.
Good points.
Well, that was really an articulate post.So clever, so creative and so intelligent.
Maybe my attitude is less crappy than circus or zoo owners...I would like to see animals in their natural habitat, or in a preserve. Guess conservatives are not allowed to have that view. Only liberals are allowed to care about animals.
Bwahahaha. Boo!
If you hate snakes, and you hate zoos, do you like snakes in zoos?
:)
I know that's what you meant to type.
You asked to be flamed, shouldn’t complain when people flame you.
I like the modern naturalized habitat zoos. The animals are healthier, live a heck of a lot longer than they would in the wild, and people get to see exotic animals. Most zoo ownership groups are big animals rights people working hard to help animals in and out of their zoo. Back in the old days of prison cage zoos you might have had a point, but most zoo animals these days have better living conditions than the people who come to see them.
And animals are a very small part of the circus. And most of them are connected to some sort of preservation action. Ringling Brothers is one of the top breeders of elephants and tigers on the planet.
It ain’t the 70s anymore, both the zoo and circus industries have changed dramatically. These days if you care about animals zoos are a VERY good place to be putting your money, and circuses aren’t too bad either.
“It’s a fine line on some of these things...”
At our local zoo the large animals are in really large habitats - not the cages from years gone by. Of course now there is no guarantee that you will be able to get a good look at the animal if they are off in a corner behind the trees. But it is pretty cool to look out on an “African Savanah” and see hippos, giraffe, wildebeasts, springbok, antelope, etc. all mingled together. (The lions have their own large space!)
And lots of descriptions of some of the animals endangered status, and reasons why (habitat, poaching, etc.). So it is a learning experience, with one of the goals to have people appreciate the animals and their predicament in the wild and what one can do to help.
It has been awhile since I’ve been to the circus - but I recall I thought it was “demeaning” to the lions, etc. to be doing their tricks. Although I doubt they care or know any different. Just like my dog, as long as they are being well cared for, fed, etc.
The GPS on the cobra’s twitter account was probably helpful in locating the snake.
Well, duh! :-)
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