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#1
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03-28-2011, 11:15 AM
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 My Rank: CORPORAL Poster Rank:1262 Neutered Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 494 494Posts 831Thanked 0Quoted 0Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Escaped Egyptian Cobra Closes Part of Bronx Zoo
New York (CNN)  A venomous Egyptian cobra went missing from New York's Bronx Zoo, prompting the closure of the zoo's reptile house until further notice. Staff was alerted Saturday that the adolescent Egyptian cobra was missing from an off-exhibit enclosure, according to a statement from the zoo. Staff members closed and secured the reptile house. Zoo officials said they are confident the 20-inch-long snake is contained in a nonpublic, isolated area of the building. "Based on our knowledge of the natural history and behavior of snakes, we know they seek closed-in spaces and are not comfortable in open areas," the zoo statement said. The Egyptian cobra is most commonly found in North Africa. Its venom is so deadly that it can kill a full-grown elephant in three hours -- or a person in about 15 minutes, according to wildlife experts. The venom destroys nerve tissue and causes paralysis and death due to respiratory failure. |
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#6
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03-31-2011, 08:08 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:4 Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 118,370 118,370Posts 65,606Thanked 34,616Quoted 465Mentioned 0Contrib. |
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Re: Escaped Egyptian Cobra Closes Part of Bronx Zoo
New York (CNN) -- An Egyptian cobra that drew thousands of Twitter fans has been found alive after it went missing for days from a New York City zoo. "As you can imagine, we are delighted to report that the snake has been found alive and well," Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny said Thursday. Zoo officials conducted around-the-clock searches for the 3-ounce, 20-inch long reptile, he said. Breheny said the cobra had sought a secure hiding spot within the holding areas of the zoo's reptile house -- a complex environment with pumps, motors and other mechanical systems. But it was lured out after zoo officials sprinkled wood shavings from exhibit beds across areas where they guessed the cobra was hiding. "It was the scent of rodents (on the wood clippings) that we hoped would bring her out," Breheny added. "The key strategy here was patience," he said in a prepared statement. The snake went missing Saturday from an off-exhibit enclosure, prompting the zoo to close the reptile house. |
