Cobra's Hissy Fit Comes to an End

The hissy fit over the 20-inch long Egyptian cobra that went missing Saturday from the Bronx Zoo is finally over. Despite what this reptile's spoof Twitter accounts alluded to, the snake never left the Bronx Zoo's house of reptiles.

The zoo's reptile house had been closed for safety concerns, as well as providing the time needed to recover the cobra. The strategy to lure the snake out was to dim the lights and use the scent of rodents to attract the snake. The cobra, being a very seclusive reptile, would not immediately feel comfortable exploring its newfound freedom.

Bronx Zoo Director Jim Breheny told ABC News, "The key strategy here was patience." The snake had been missing for several days and what eventually lured it out of hiding was "the scent of rodents (on the wood clippings) that we hoped would bring her out," Breheny added.

On Thursday morning, workers at the zoo found the cobra in the holding areas of the zoo's reptile house, hidden among a complex environment of pumps, motors and other mechanical systems.

But the snake's legend lives on in the Twitter universe, where its profile listed the reptile as "an Egyptian cobra out on the town." Prior to the snake's return, the cobra had found a way to prey upon the fears of New Yorkers by posting tweets.

"A lot of people are asking how I can tweet with no access to a computer or fingers. Ever heard of an iPhone? Duh," says one tweet.

However, now that the snake has been found, the reptile's fellow tweeters are comparing the fiasco to the likes of Balloon Boy. Yet the cobra's absence was no hoax, and not something that should have been taken so lightly

The idea that an Egyptian cobra could have been roaming New York City was nerve racking to say the least. Add the fact that its venom is so deadly that it can kill a person in about 15 minutes. Neuro-toxins in the snake's venom destroy nerve tissue and cause paralysis and death by respiratory failure.