Update: Bronx Zoo’s Missing Egyptian Cobra Is Found Alive and Well


Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society 

The Egyptian cobra that went missing from her Bronx Zoo enclosure nearly a week ago has been found. She's was discovered "alive and well" in the zoo's Reptile House, which has been closed to the public since she went missing last Friday. Officials will reopen the Reptile House and put the snake back on exhibit once they're certain she's in good condition.
 
“As you can imagine, we are delighted to report that the snake has been found alive and well,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Senior Vice President of Living Institutions and Director of the Bronx Zoo. “The key strategy here was patience.”
 
The Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo staff have been conducting sweeping searchers around the clock since she went missing. They also implemented a system for tracking any movement she made when human eyes were focused elsewhere. Finding her took several days because she's small (at only a few months old, whe weighs about 3 ounces and is 20 inches long), and she sought out a secure hiding spot within the Reptile House's holding areas – an extremely complex environment with pumps, motors, and other mechanical systems.
 
The missing snake inspired one anonymous person to start Tweeting, pretending to be the cobra checking out the sights of NewYork City, including Yankee Starium on opening day. Her latest post said: 
 
If you see a bag of peanuts inexplicably moving along the ground at Yankee Stadium today. Just ignore it. It's probably nothing.
 
While @bronxzoocobra's nearly 200,000 Twitter followers will likely miss the celebrity's posts, zoo officials are relieved that the real snake's adventure is over.
 
Click here for Egyptian cobra facts and more – including an incredible video that shows why the reptiles should be afraid of honey badgers.