Sweden: Escaped cobra is back in its enclosure

A week after its spectacular escape from the Swedish zoo’s Skansen aquarium, a royal cobra returned to its enclosure on Sunday, successfully evading all searches for days, officials said.

A few days after his arrival, the snake, named “Sire Whisler,” escaped past one of the light bulbs in his landscape on Saturday, October 22.

According to the management of the zoo, which has welcomed the royal cobras safely for nearly fifteen years, the old ones that overheat and keep the reptiles away have recently been replaced with low-powered electric lights.

‘Sir Was’ later thwarted attempts to rescue him, earning the nickname ‘Houdini’ after the famous illusionist who managed to free himself from all chains, cages and cells.

To find him, staff sprinkled flour over the reptile area and littered with sticky traps, to no avail. Special cameras and portable x-ray machines were installed at the zoo on loan from the Swedish Customs Service.

On Friday, the reptile run came to an end when it was spotted on an inner wall.

“The clever Houdini changed places several times as we opened several holes to capture him,” the zoo explains. At one point, the escaped snake allowed itself to poke its head out through a trap door.

“He realized the customs officers were in the building and turned to hide somewhere else,” the zoo said, but “if we can escape from customs, we can’t escape him”.

It seems that during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the cobra decided to flee for his life. According to the zoo, “He fell down and crawled back into his safe, warm home. The reptile section was able to reopen to the public, but ‘Houdini’ is under ‘house arrest’ for viewing and visitors won’t be able to see him until Monday.”

Native to South and Southeast Asia, the king cobra is naturally peaceful and unlikely to strike, making it the longest venomous snake in the world. Its main prey is other snakes, but its bite can be fatal to humans if untreated.