The New York Post reports this morning that officials at the Bronx Zoo are trying to lure the Egyptian cobra, that went missing in the House of Reptiles on Friday, out of hiding with live mice traps.
Professor and world-renowned rattlesnake handler Glenn Johnson has his doubts. "Traps almost never work," he told the Post. "I wouldn't want to be looking for a cobra. Rattlesnakes are pussycats compared to them."
But while the Zoo fumbles to find him, this "20-inch, pencil-thin" snake has become one of New York's biggest, most sought-after stars.
The BronxZoosCobra twitter, a funny fictional Twitter account of the snake's travels throughout New York City, now has 139,471 followers, while the actual BronxZoo's twitter which only has 7,886. This morning BronxZoosCobra told his followers he was getting some coffee: "Getting my morning coffee at the Mudtruck. Don't even talk to me until I've had my morning coffee. Seriously, don't. I'm venomous.
Even Bloomberg's getting in on the action, tweeting yesterday "Today President Obama and I toured NYC's Museum of Natural History. We saw a 94 foot whale, but not @BronxZoosCobra".
CafePress is now selling "I 'Egyptian Cobra' New York" Coffee Mugs.
And in an open letter to the cobra from SKYY Vodka, the popular vodka brand is offering the famous reptile a lucrative deal as vodka spokessnake:
SKYY Vodka would like to be the first brand to officially offer you a product endorsement deal. Next month, SKYY Vodka will launch its newest Infusion, SKYY Infusions Dragon Fruit with a star-studded launch event at PURE in Las Vegas. With your quick rise to fame, we would like to officially extend an offer to you of $10,000 (USD) to attend our party on Tuesday, April 19th. Unfortunately, due to a potential hazardous situation developing, we can only extend this offer to you and we cannot accommodate any of your friends.
Isn't a slippery, defiant cobra the perfect metaphor for New Yorkers? City's official mascot, anyone?