Time to name that snake - Cobra from BX Zoo (Via HerpDigest)

Time to name that snake - Cobra from BX Zoo

By Jaya Saxena in News on April 2, 2011

When you start pulling April Fools jokes with Ryan Seacrest it's definitely a sign your 15 minutes are almost up, but the Bronx Zoo's cobra isn't going down without a fight! Or at least a name. As we noted last week, the Egyptian cobra that went missing within the Reptile House doesn't have a name, and apparently our nickname of "Everyone's Nightmare" didn't catch on, so the Bronx Zoo is running a naming contest with the Daily News.

John Sellers already suggested "Hissy Elliot," but the BronxZoosCobra Twitter thinks it should stay just that. The zoo is accepting submissions until 1 p.m. on Monday, and will announce the winner next Thursday. As for the snake's next fame grab, we're expecting a record deal featuring a hit cover of "Walk Like an Egyptian" before Hissy is busted for coke possession, lashes out at the paparazzi, and then stages a comeback charity concert for trapped reptiles everywhere.

Deadly Egyptian cobra missing from Bronx Zoo

By Deborah Brunswick, CNN
March 27, 2011 -- Updated 1625 GMT (0025 HKT)

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.

Scholars believe the Egyptian cobra was known in ancient times as the asp. Legend has it that Cleopatra, the ancient Egyptian queen, used an asp to commit suicide.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/03/27/new.york.missing.cobra/index.html?hpt=T2

Teen faces £90,000 bill for snake hunt

A German teenager faces a near £90,000 bill after his pet snake escaped, trigering a three-week hunt.

Authorities stripped the owner's flat bare, ripped out walls and floorboards and evacuating the building, reports the BBC. The 12ins monocled cobra was eventually found dead on double-sided sticky tape laid by the fire brigade.

The venomous snake's 19-year-old owner now reportedly faces a bill for 100,000 euros (£88,000) in costs. After the cobra escaped from its tank, firefighters sealed the building and laid the sticky-tape trap. They checked the building daily and, finally, one of them spotted the snake, lying on a piece of tape having apparently died of exhaustion.

It is believed the snake may have emerged from its hiding place because of the warmer weather. The owner's flat has been left uninhabitable, though other residents could return to the building, local media reports said.

"Everything has had a happy end," a spokesman for the town of Muelheim in western Germany said. "Not for the snake but for us."

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Teen_faces_90000_bill_for_snake_hunt