Florida king cobra wouldn't go quietly into custody
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Elvis the king cobra put up a fight, even briefly escaping, as animal control officers tried to lure it from underneath a dryer in an Orlando woman's garage.
The snake had been missing from its owner's home since Sept. 1 and was found Wednesday in the garage about a half-mile away.
Three animal control officers went there to capture Elvis.
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the snake suddenly escaped their grasp, extending his body as tall as officer Jenifer Porter - 5 feet 6 inches. Porter backed away.
"We just didn't want it to get away, and it started to get away and started to go into the house," Porter told CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG-TV. "It was trying to go into the house. It was trying to go into the garage area, and it was a little aggravating at that point in time."
Kirsten Smith stepped on Elvis' tail, and Billy Ledford grabbed the head with snake tongs.
The box that usually holds snakes was too small, so officers put Elvis in a cat cage. The snake is 8 to 10 feet long.
WKMG-TV reports the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it has started the process to revoke the cobra owner's license to own a venomous reptile.
The commission said on Friday a notice of intent to revoke the license for Mike Kennedy, a cast member of the Discovery Channel's "Airplane Repo," has been mailed. Kennedy has 21 days to request a hearing.
"There is a lengthy communications, review and appeal process that we are following in this instance. If revoked, Mr. Kennedy would no longer be permitted to own venomous reptiles in Florida," the commission said in a statement to WKMG-TV.