• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

I love snakes BUT....

I like my Cobras behind a thick piece of glass at the zoo.

Funny, I was just reading about Mike Kennedy because I watch Airplane Repo even though I know that at best what is seen in the show is all dramatic recreations. It's still entertaining to me.

Anyway, this is not the first escaped snake he's had. Kennedy had another escaped king cobra in 2001. That was a rescue from an operation to devenomize it that injured the snake, but the guy who shot it in his garage didn't know the snake had no venom.

It's not good that the snake escaped, but IMO it is inexcusable that Kennedy didn't report it immediately as required by law.
 
Yeah, it is causing a LOT of upheaval around here. I have family (with 2 toddlers) who lived like.. 2 neighborhoods over. And there is a school practically across the street from the location so parents are like "I'm not letting my kid go there" until its found.
 
I can imagine, XenDrgn. Pretty scary. And of course the snake is just being what it is supposed to be. I hope it is safely caught.
 
I think that a King Cobra requires a habitat that allows for NO escapes. This is at least his second. It is not safe for the snake, it will possibly be shot on sight and it is not good for the community. He needs his license revoked.
 
I agree that this is a cause for concern in this community. We all know that escapes happen but the general public doesn't see things the same way, especially in the case of a venomous snake.

A few months ago, a 6ft Imperator Boa got loose in my hometown and once the local news reported it, people were practically losing their minds over it.

I hope this snake is found quickly and returned to its home without incident.
 
8bdd48f04a66a924ea40acb7c9f9def1.jpg
 
Yes it is ok to alert everyone, but what is the odds of the snake actually going on the attack unless trampled on, chased, cornered, picked up etc?!

Sucks when these things happens, it just hurts the hobby further.. Hope he makes it back safe and sound.

Nanci, that is just adorable!
 
I recently came across a dilemma....I had a chicken wander in my back yard...not being equipped to handle or house it...I joined a chicken forum to get some education....

Meanwhile, I would take this chicken in at night and put it a pet carrier and take it out in the morning and give it food and water and let it go in my garden for the day....it quickly became a pet...

Anyway....the subject of snakes came up rather quickly on this forum and there were the usual knee-jerk idiots proudly posting: "The only good snake is a dead snake"...."I say kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out"...."When it comes to my family....I'm not gonna take a chance ".....

Now....I immediately didn't become very popular when I pointed out that those idiotic actions defied logic and that destroying beneficial snakes out of paranoia not only was detrimental to the snakes, the environment, but to the family they thought they were protecting....

But....here's where the dilemma comes in....when harmless snakes start eating eggs and killing chickens...Now, this is no longer sensless killing of harmless snakes out of ignorance....but trying to deal with a problem snake.

One member had went to the extraordinary effort to capture and relocate a snake....who came back and killed a prized, expensive chicken. So the subject of deterrents came up, which prompted the nit- wits : "Remington and Federal both make good snake deterrents , ect". So in the course of this discussion...while I had to commend this person for their effort, regrettably...I had to agree somewhat with the "kill 'em all" idiots.

After talking about some possible methods of deterrents, I had to say that deterrents would only work before a snake finds the easy meals. Then, you must either "snakeproof" the coop, relocate the snake far, far away, or....just dispatch it....and....the latter was probably going to the easiest and most effective.....

While I love snakes, I'm also a realist....and this snake (and others like it)...are in reality harming their family ....financially....as well as possibly emotionally....and if something was killing your snakes, how tolerant would you be?
 
I once had chickens when I lived in a rural area. A neighbor's dogs which ran free killed the chickens. No one killed the neighbor's dogs but the neighbor paid for the chickens and stopped letting the dogs run free.

So what does this have to do with the price of tea in China or an escaped king cobra? Each case is different. Many things besides snakes can kill chickens.

Since we keep our harmless pet snakes inside our homes in enclosures, unless they escape they are rather safe. If they escape we are prepared for the possible unhappy consequences. If we keep snakes that have the potential to take the lives of people, pets, or livestock the standard to prevent escape and harm to the community is very high. This is not the snake's fault, but simply the snake owner's responsibility to his or her snake and to the community.

These same folks who kill a snake who "got" a chicken would kill a coyote, or a bobcat, or any other natural predator that killed one or more of their chickens. And some of them would (and have) kill possible predators proactively. You can't blame any wild animal including a snake for being what it is.

This cobra should be humanely trapped if possible. If that is not possible and human life is truly in the balance or even someone's beloved pet, and not just someone's fear, then yes killing the cobra may be justified. That doesn't change the fact that I hope the snake is returned safely to captivity. The cobra is just what it is, no more and no less. It didn't ask to be a captive in Florida with an owner that has a spotty track record on protecting the community and his animals.
 
Of course the locals will be arming themselves and barricading their doors and windows as if a tornado is coming.
Unfortunately there may be many snake shootings as a result from the fear and panic that this might cause.
 
DollysMom said:
I once had chickens when I lived in a rural area. A neighbor's dogs which ran free killed the chickens. No one killed the neighbor's dogs but the neighbor paid for the chickens and stopped letting the dogs run free.

So what does this have to do with the price of tea in China or an escaped king cobra? Each case is different. Many things besides snakes can kill chickens.

Since we keep our harmless pet snakes inside our homes in enclosures, unless they escape they are rather safe. If they escape we are prepared for the possible unhappy consequences. If we keep snakes that have the potential to take the lives of people, pets, or livestock the standard to prevent escape and harm to the community is very high. This is not the snake's fault, but simply the snake owner's responsibility to his or her snake and to the community.

These same folks who kill a snake who "got" a chicken would kill a coyote, or a bobcat, or any other natural predator that killed one or more of their chickens. And some of them would (and have) kill possible predators proactively. You can't blame any wild animal including a snake for being what it is.

This cobra should be humanely trapped if possible. If that is not possible and human life is truly in the balance or even someone's beloved pet, and not just someone's fear, then yes killing the cobra may be justified. That doesn't change the fact that I hope the snake is returned safely to captivity. The cobra is just what it is, no more and no less. It didn't ask to be a captive in Florida with an owner that has a spotty track record on protecting the community and his animals.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you....except you skimmed over one very important facet.... You didn't go out and indescrimately kill every dog you see.....

And yes....it would be nice if this cobra could be returned intact....but..., to be honest, I'm not sure what my tolerance level would be if there were a chance this snake could elude capture and be free in my neighborhood....and...if you were honest with yourself, and put yourself in that situation....would you really consider the risks involved worth the snake's life???

What if.....you had the opportunity to dispatch this snake....but elected instead to try to capture it....and it escaped....

Then later a 3 year old child tried to pick it up....was bitten and died...???

OK....All this is hypothetical anyway...so....should one of my snakes escape and be killed....(even though harmless) ....I could only blame myself...and not the person responsible for killing it....(regardless of how skewed their thinking may be)....

And again....being honest...if I saw this cobra loose in my neighborhood....if there was the slightest chance this thing could escape...I would sleep well at night...because there are so many things wrong about the whole situation and so few that justify risk of human life or injury to return a dangerous, non native snake to an irresponsible owner....
 
First, I don't own a gun and I certainly wouldn't go after a king cobra with a stick. So all I could do is hightail it out of there and report the last known position to authorities. If I had a gun I better be a darn good shot. If a three-year-old was hurt by the snake I and everyone else would feel bad but it would not be my responsibility because I would not or could not put my life in danger in order to kill or capture the snake myself. In alerting the authorities who would then alert the community I would be doing my part to protect the children in the area. And of course I would try to contact my immediate neighbors even before the authorities did.

Right, I didn't go out and indiscriminately kill every dog I saw. Why would I? Why would I even kill the neighbor's dogs? If my neighbors hadn't volunteered to make restitution and control their dogs , I would've taken my neighbors to small claims court. There are laws and processes available that are far short of taking the law into my own hands over the loss of chickens as beloved as they may be.

Yes, for me here sitting over 1000 miles away from the king cobra this is all theoretical. However, I live quite close a zoo… Fortunately Grace Olive Wiley is no longer the curator of reptiles there, so odds of an escaped cobra are a lot less than they were in the 1930's when she was. (She's long dead of a cobra bite. Brilliant woman. Real pioneer in herpetology, but her laxness with securing venomous snakes was the reason she was let go from this zoo).
 
I do own guns...but you can still take one out with a stick...(just needs to be a long one)....:laugh:

Interestingly....off-topic...(kinda)....there used to be a guy about 1/4 mile from my house that had a little building and made a living off snakes....there were several places that sold his wares: rattlesnake head mounts, full mounts, head bands, and rattles.....(I'm sure he probably also sold the meat....but I have no personal confirmation of that.....

He also milked many different venomous snakes and sold the venom for anti-venom production....he was found dead in his shop from snakebite....details were sketchy....
 
Nanci I love that picture!!
My mom lives out there, that's where I'm from, and she was asking me about it... I'm like if you see a King Cobra, RUN. AWAY. FAST. Lol leave it alone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top