Another day, another snake on the loose.
A West African banded cobra was reported missing by its owner this week, the Grand Prairie Police Department announced on Wednesday.
Officials are asking those who spot the highly venomous and poisonous snake, which is considered aggressive, to not approach it.
‘Residents who live in the area and see any type of snake believed to be the missing cobra, are asked to call 911 immediately,’ the Police Department wrote in a press release.
‘Do not approach or attempt to capture the venomous snake.’
The snake has been missing from its enclosure since Tuesday, August 3, around 5 pm.
A West African banded cobra (similar to the one above) has been reported missing by its owner in Texas
The snake went missing in Grand Prairie on August 3 around 5 pm. Officials ask residents who spot the venomous snake to not approach it
The police department said it is partnering with the local fire department to alert area hospitals of the missing snake and initiate a protocol to treat someone if they are bitten by the snake.
The owner, who has not been identified, was permitted to have the snake by the State of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
However, they told NBC 5 it’s possible the cobra may have been caught inside the walls of his house and died or died from the Texas heat.
‘I did make a mistake and I feel very sorry for the community,’ the owner told NBC 5.
‘I left to go get food for my other animals down the street and I came back, and the cage door was open by an inch,’ he said. ‘She must have found a way to open it up.’
Although recently new to science, according to a study published in 2018, a bite from the West African Banded Cobra is considered lethal to humans.
Although recently new to science, a bite from the West African Banded Cobra is considered lethal to humans. These snakes can reach up to 9 feet in length, but bites are considered rare
It is considered a subspecies of the forest cobra, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, according to Animal Diversity Web.
According to the African Snake Bite Institute, these snakes can reach up to 9 feet in length, but bites from this group are considered rare.
In June, a spitting zebra cobra escaped from its owner’s house in Raleigh, North Carolina, sparking fear in the neighborhood.
However, that snake was eventually captured by Raleigh’s police department after they used glue traps to ‘locate and safely remove’ the reptile.
