News: Deadly Snake Missing from Bronx Zoo
(Long Island, N.Y.) Workers of the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo discovered that an adolescent Egyptian Cobra was missing last Friday afternoon. Though they are confident that the snake has been confined to a non-public area of the building, zoo officials closed the reptile house over the weekend. The snake belongs to a highly venomous species that can kill an adult human in as little as fifteen minutes.
The snake is twenty inches in length, but belongs to a species that can reach between five and eight feet in the wild. It is a member of the hooded species that is native to northern Africa. In its natural environment, it can kill an adult elephant in three hours by dispersing 175-200mg of venom in a single bite.
If left untreated a single snakebite can cause irrecoverable damage to nerve tissue. Death results from paralysis and respiratory failure. Experts believe that the snake’s immediate reaction to humans is to escape, but also note that it is likely to attack when threatened.
The Bronx Zoo, which opened in 1899, is run by a nonprofit organization called the Wildlife Conservation Society. Zoo officials are confident that the snake will be found curled in a dark corner of the building. They say that the snake went missing from an off-exhibit enclosure in a non-public and relatively isolated area of the reptile house. Experts maintain that this particular species of snake seeks enclosed areas and will normally avoid open spaces.
Zoo workers say that their best chances of finding the snake will be when it gets too hungry or thirsty to remain in its hiding space. They claim that the reptile house will be shutdown while the search is ongoing, and will remain closed indefinitely. This particular species of cobra is known for its large, broad head and snout and large eyes with round pupils. They appear brown or black in color and have necks that can reach between six and seven inches.
In the wild, Egyptian cobras are nocturnal and are not afraid of humans. They are attracted to human dwellings by chickens, rats, and livestock. They feed on small mammals, lizards, toads, and other snakes.
Egyptian cobras have a couple of claims to fame, and have made headlines for other reasons. In the fall of 2006 a case involved an Egyptian cobra that was kept as a pet and went missing from a home in Canada. The snake was missing for at least six months before authorities believed it hid between the walls of the home. The owner was fined $17,000 and was sent to jail after the home was forced to be evacuated.
The Egyptian cobra has a long history of meaning, and was especially significant in ancient times. The snake was considered a symbol of royalty in Roman Egypt and was formally known as an “asp.” It was used in Greek and Egyptian executions for those who were deemed to deserve a nobler death.
Egyptian cobras are perhaps most known for their association with the ancient queen Cleopatra. According to myth, it was believed that Cleopatra experimented on prisoners doomed for execution and found that the asp bite was the least terrible of venomous deaths. She believed it was less painful because the victim would become sleepy and suffered from less muscle spasms prior to death. An Egyptian cobra was smuggled into her fig basket and assisted her suicide.
The recent events at the Bronx Zoo have many animal activists taking a stand against the captivity of such animals. Also, many followers of this story have noticed the coincidence between the missing snake and the recent death of actress Elizabeth Taylor, who once played Cleopatra in a movie with co-star and former husband Richard Burton.
