The search is finally over.
The deadly cobra that escaped from the Bronx Zoo on Saturday is back in custody, zoo officials said today.
The highly venomous 20-inch-long snake escaped from its habitat, with zoo officials saying it was hiding out somewhere inside the Reptile House, which had remained closed since the weekend.
The snake was found at about 9 a.m. after it was lured out by the smell of rodents that had been there by zoo workers, officials said.
“As you can imagine, we are delighted to report that the snake has been found alive and well,” said Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo.
“I really want to thank our staff for their determination and professionalism as we conducted the methodical search. We appreciated the public’s support throughout the past week and we thank the media for helping keep the public informed.”
The brownish cobra — with a uniquely large, broad head — is among the most venomous reptiles on the planet — its poison can kill a person in fewer than 15 minutes.
Zoo officials said no one was fired as a result of the incident.
The missing snake became international news in recent days.
A prankster seized upon the tale to create a fake Twitter account called @bronxzooscobra, quickly garnering nearly 200,000 followers.
The Twitter “cobra” refused to concede that it had been caught. Around 2:10 p.m. it tweeted, “If you see a bag of peanuts inexplicably moving along the ground at Yankee Stadium today. Just ignore it. It’s probably nothing.”
Zoo officials had resorted to using traps baited with live rats to try to capture it.
With Newscore