Famous Cobra Back at the Bronx Zoo
A beautiful but venomous Egyptian cobra is back in the Bronx Zoo. In case you missed it, she went missing from the zoo several weeks ago. The magnificent reptile was found a week ago in a dark corner of the reptile house. I guess she just wanted a little privacy. Can’t blame her for that.
This story of the missing snake had caught the attention of many people. The cobra is 24-inches in length. Once found and placed back in the display area, many visitors lined up to get a glimpse through the glass cage.
An astounding 60,000 people voted on five final choices to give her a name. Drum roll please. The winning name is quite appropriately “Mia” (for “Missing in action”). “Cleopatra” and “Amaunet,” an ancient Egyptian goddess whose name means “the female hidden one, were also popular choices.
Not to be outdone, someone pretending to be the snake on Twitter now has more than 200,000 followers. Too bad there isn’t a way to get the snake to post herself to her Twitter account. I’d be curious to see what she thinks about all this.
The brown snake is one of the most poisonous reptiles on the planet. Her poison can kill a person in mere minutes. So which hand do you use to pick up a lethal snake? Why, someone else’s of course.
In spite of all the fanfare and hype, there were still many observers who were quite frightened. One onlooker was heard saying, “I’m scared of snakes. I took pictures and then ran out!” Well at least she is back where she belongs.
