NEW YORK POST (New York) 29 March 11 Bronx Zoo cobra found - on Twitter! (Amber Sutherland and Don Kaplan)

The deadly Egyptian cobra that's been MIA at the Bronx Zoo has attained celebrity status -- it now has its own Twitter page.

"Anyone know a good vegan restaurant near Union Square?" reads one tweet, written under the name "BronxZoosCobra."

"Leaving Wall Street. These guys make my skin crawl," reads another post on the spoof account, which chronicles the imagined meanderings of the snake on the lam.

The cobra -- missing from its enclosure at the zoo's Reptile House since Saturday -- even gives a shoutout to a fellow wayward celebrity.

Alyssa Borek/Bronx Zoo"Dear @CharlieSheen, know what's better than tiger's blood? Cobra venom. Also I'm 20 inches long. Just sayin," reads a tweet.

The snake also likes actress Tina Fey: "Rockefeller Plaza is amaz. . . . wait . . . OMG! Tina Fey totally just walked by me! HUUUUGE FAN!"

It could take weeks for zoo workers to find the slippery serpent, says TV reptile expert Jeff Corwin.

"These snakes are perfectly designed to hide in the hardest-to-find places," the Animal Planet star told The Post yesterday.

But it would likely die within several days if exposed to the cold, he said.

"The Bronx would eat this cobra alive," he said.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/bx_zoo_cobra_found_on_twitter_m2oLCGfqMkQKzU0EOMWb3I



FOX (Tampa Bay, Florida) 29 March 11 Missing Bronx Zoo Cobra On Twitter

New York: A venomous cobra remains missing at the Bronx Zoo. The reptile vanished from an enclosure outside public view on Friday.

Its Reptile House is closed as a precaution while zoo workers search for the cobra.

The reptile has found a new life, however, on Twitter as @BronxZoosCobra .

With more than 18,000 followers, the cobra's bio reads: "I'm an Egyptian cobra out on the town" with a location listed as " I'm not at the Bronx Zoo."

One Tweet said "I agree with Brett Favre. Snakes should be set free!"

While the roughly 20-inch-long Egyptian cobra — a highly venomous species of snake — has been unaccounted for since Friday afternoon, zoo officials say they're confident it hasn't gone far and isn't in a public area. Its enclosure was in an isolation area not open to visitors.

"To understand the situation, you have to understand snakes," zoo Director Jim Breheny said in an email Sunday.

The animals seek out confined spaces, so this one has doubtless hidden in a place it feels safe, he said.

Once the snake gets hungry or thirsty enough to leave its hiding place, workers will have their best opportunity to recover it, Breheny said. In the meantime, the Reptile House remained closed indefinitely.

The missing cobra is an adolescent of its hooded species, which is believed to be the type of snake that was called an asp in antiquity. Cobra bites can be deadly if not treated properly, but the snakes aren't likely to attack people unless the reptiles feel threatened, according to a fact sheet on the San Diego Zoo's website.

Opened in 1899, the Bronx Zoo is run by the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society.

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpps/news/national/cobra-disappers-at-bronx-zoo-20110327-apx_12505861



DAILY TIMES (New York, New York) 29 March 11 Elusive cobra gone missing at Bronx Zoo now has more than 10,000 followers on Twitter (Barry Paddock and Lore Croghan)

It could be weeks before an escaped cobra is captured at the Bronx Zoo, officials said Monday.

Despite searches of the Reptile House, animal specialists have not found the pencil-thin snake missing since Friday.

And they're not sure when that will change.

"Right now, it's the snake's game," the zoo said in a statement. "At this point, it's just like fishing; you put the hook in the water and wait. Our best strategy is patience, allowing her time to come out of hiding."

Zoo workers are confident the venomous Egyptian cobra is still in the Reptile House, but it's probably too freaked out by all the equipment to move a muscle.

They expect that as the snake gets more comfortable, it will venture out for food and water and be caught.

The fanged fugitive might be keeping ophidiophobes away from the Bronx - but some folks were drawn to the zoo because of the cold-blooded drama.

Donna Henson of Atlanta made a special stop Monday, hoping she would be on the scene if the snake was nabbed.

"I'm an animal lover," said Henson, 55. "I love them all, even snakes."

Her brother, Frank Cioffi, 56, accompanied her - reluctantly.

"I'm not crazy about snakes," he confessed. "I'm a little anxious. But this is my sister's birthday present."

"It's exciting. I'm not scared at all," said Yves Chardonnet, 39, a tourist from Paris.

But he had to talk a friend into joining him. "Of course, I'm scared," said the pal, Alain Coat, 38. "You don't want to be bitten."

Meanwhile, an anonymous wit opened a Twitter account in the name of "an Egyptian cobra out on the town" that quickly drew more than 10,000 followers.

"Dear NYC, Apples and snakes have gone together since the beginning," it tweeted.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2011/03/28/2011-03-28_bronx_zoo_egyptian_cobra_still_on_loose_visitors_edgy_excited_as_reptile_house_c.html?r=news

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