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Missing Cobra Still Missing, But Everyone's Mostly Cool With It For Now
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 31, 2011
Modified Mar 31, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 31, 2011
Modified Mar 31, 2011
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We're now on Day 6 of Cobra Watch 2011: Crisis In The Bronx—Zootopia Shrugged! Ever since a deadly, black, 20-inch Egyptian Cobra went missing from the Bronx Zoo last Friday, people have been terrified of the prospect of a live snake slithering through the city, as well as bemused by its charming Twitter account. But between the hilarious headlines and maps of her celebrity tour of NYC (which you can see below), are we all developing a collective case of sssstockholm ssssyndrome?
The News points out that at first, Bronx Zoo workers referred to the snake as "it", but after a few days on the hunt, began giving her human, "even girlish" qualities. They talk about her like a runaway teen, or a young girl who doesn't know what trouble she's stirred up in her absence. Are they trying to downplay fears of the creature, whose venom is likely to kill a human adult...or are they falling in love with the majestic asp which Cleopatra used to kill herself?
Meanwhile, thanks to its Twitter account, we can measure the rate at which the general public is falling for the cobra: she has gained around 40,000 new followers every day since she's gone missing, and has close to 200,000 followers altogether currently. Celebrities such as Jon Favreau and Ellen DeGeneres have given suggestions as to where she should visit next. But it seems that not everyone is falling head-over-heels for her pun-filled antics; the cobra tweeted this morning, "Got a bagel at H & H Bagels on upper west side. When I ordered I said, "I'll have the snakes on a PLAIN." He did not laugh. Tough crowd."
View Bronx Zoo Cobra's Celebrity Tour of NYC in a larger map
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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