Cobra On The Way To New Home At The San Diego Zoo
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A monocled cobra that mysteriously appeared in a Thousand Oaks neighborhood this week is now on his way to his new home at the San Diego Zoo.
Staff from the San Diego Zoo arrived at the Los Angeles Zoo at about 1 p.m. Friday to collect the cobra, which has been in quarantine since Thursday afternoon following his capture by Los Angeles County Animal Control.
The albino monocled cobra had been on the loose since at least Monday evening, when it attackeda dog in Thousand Oaks. The veterinarian who treated the animal said it appeared that the dog wasn't bitten but was hurt while evading the snake.
The cobra apparently escaped from captivity, although authorities have not found the owner. Los Angeles County spokesman Brandon Dowling said investigators were following leads on where the snake came from.
Television reports showed officers using a long-handled, tong-like grabber to haul the snake from a pile of scrap lumber in a backyard and put it in a long wooden box. It was taken to an animal shelter and then to the zoo.
On Friday, zoo staffers released a video showing a handler using the same tonglike tool to remove the snake from a narrow wooden box that resembles the one the snake was put in when it was captured.
The venom of the cobra is a neurotoxin that can kill within an hour. The LA Zoo's reptile and amphibian curator, Ian Recchio, says the cobra's venom glands were intact and could have given a deadly bite.
The snake became a mini-media sensation, and at least three Twitter accounts were started in its name, including AlbinoMonocledCobra, which had almost 400 followers by Friday morning.
After the capture, AlbinoMonocledCobra tweeted: "It's over, folks. (hash)SendBail$$$."
Cobras are illegal to own in California except for educational and scientific purposes, and a permit is required.
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