General Discussion

RandySF

(58,935 posts) Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:00 PM Sep 2015

King cobra is on the loose in Orlando, Florida

(CNN)A word of advice to the people of Orlando: Before you step outside Thursday or send your pet out into the backyard, take a little extra time to look around first.

Especially if you live near the 4800 block of North Apopka Vineland Road.

There's a king cobra on the loose.

The snake's owner, Mike Kennedy, describes him as 8 feet long -- not very big as king cobras go -- but still a very venomous visitor to Central Florida.

The snake escaped from his cage because of weather-related events, Kennedy said.

After a series of storms, a limb fell on the house, where the snake's cage is located. The ensuing flooding allowed the snake to escape its cage.

Currently 10 people are searching the 10-acre property where the king cobra went missing, including a Kennedy team and one from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). They're all experienced snake handlers, according to the FWC.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/us/king-cobra-missing-orlando-florida/index.html

19 replies

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Highlight:

King cobra is on the loose in Orlando, Florida (Original Post) RandySF Sep 2015 OP

why did he have this animal? Ilsa Sep 2015 #1

Coolness factor RandySF Sep 2015 #3

The guy who owns the thing is Mike Kennedy. Hassin Bin Sober Sep 2015 #8

What the heck is this reptile doing in someone's home, in Florida? rusty quoin Sep 2015 #2

money for the permits. juxtaposed Sep 2015 #7

Like who would be dumb enough to allow military rifles in homes...oh...never mind...I forgot. rusty quoin Sep 2015 #9

Or handguns... hunter Sep 2015 #16

I really don't understand how it's legal for people to keep those things as pets. GoCubsGo Sep 2015 #4

That one bit a person who died and the snake also died TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #5

Thank you. I was wondering what ever became of it. n/t GoCubsGo Sep 2015 #6

This is the best I could find TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #10

The snake got Buicked to death. Hoppy Sep 2015 #12

And the fire ants made a meal of it. TexasProgresive Sep 2015 #13

Thanks! GoCubsGo Sep 2015 #18

There are apparently many thousands of highly poisonous SheilaT Sep 2015 #11

CNN fails to mention that Florida is full of deadly venomous snakes. Mister Ed Sep 2015 #14

But now we have a king cobra somewhere in suburban Orlando RandySF Sep 2015 #17

When the cobra is caught... TexasTowelie Sep 2015 #15

Reminds me of the local black mamba scare way back in the 90s sakabatou Sep 2015 #19

Ilsa

(61,695 posts)

1. why did he have this animal?

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:04 PM

Sep 2015

How can this possibly be a "pet"? Irresponsible.

RandySF

(58,935 posts)

3. Coolness factor

Reply to Ilsa (Reply #1)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:09 PM

Sep 2015

The same reason people keep rattlesnakes and certain tarantulas that one would not dare handle. And in the end, things go badly.

Hassin Bin Sober

(26,330 posts)

8. The guy who owns the thing is Mike Kennedy.

Reply to RandySF (Reply #3)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:31 PM

Sep 2015

He is featured on the pseudo reality show Airplane Repo on Discovery. A show I really tried to watch because I love airplanes. But the show is so phony and over hyped it's ridiculous.

Anyway, the guy has other exotic animals - tigers, I think. I think he might even harvest venom for anti-venom.

He's a daredevil and a pilot yada yada.

rusty quoin

(6,133 posts)

2. What the heck is this reptile doing in someone's home, in Florida?

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:07 PM

Sep 2015

juxtaposed

(2,778 posts)

7. money for the permits.

Reply to rusty quoin (Reply #2)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:26 PM

Sep 2015

rusty quoin

(6,133 posts)

9. Like who would be dumb enough to allow military rifles in homes...oh...never mind...I forgot.

Reply to juxtaposed (Reply #7)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:33 PM

Sep 2015

hunter

(38,318 posts)

16. Or handguns...

Reply to rusty quoin (Reply #9)

Sat Sep 5, 2015, 01:11 AM

Sep 2015

GoCubsGo

(32,086 posts)

4. I really don't understand how it's legal for people to keep those things as pets.

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:11 PM

Sep 2015

There was another one that escaped in Houston a month or so ago. I don't know if they ever caught that one.

TexasProgresive

(12,157 posts)

5. That one bit a person who died and the snake also died

Reply to GoCubsGo (Reply #4)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:20 PM

Sep 2015

I don't remember the details as to what killed the snake.

GoCubsGo

(32,086 posts)

6. Thank you. I was wondering what ever became of it. n/t

Reply to TexasProgresive (Reply #5)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:21 PM

Sep 2015

TexasProgresive

(12,157 posts)

10. This is the best I could find

Reply to GoCubsGo (Reply #6)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:35 PM

Sep 2015

http://kxan.com/2015/07/16/austin-plans-organized-search-for-cobra-that-may-have-bitten-teen/
Police consider possibility of suicide by snake in teen’s death
KXAN News Published: July 16, 2015, 4:54 pm Updated: July 17, 2015, 5:45 pm
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As authorities wait on an official cause of death for a teenager who might have died from a snake bite, the are considering he may have committed suicide by letting the venomous snake bite him.

Austin Animal Protection Office says the public need not worry about a snake on the loose since they found the victim’s Monocled Cobra early Friday morning.

Around 2:40 a.m. on Friday, a 911 caller said he found a dead snake on the side of the frontage road of Interstate 35, right in front of Lowe’s and CarMax.

Hoppy

(3,595 posts)

12. The snake got Buicked to death.

Reply to TexasProgresive (Reply #10)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:51 PM

Sep 2015

TexasProgresive

(12,157 posts)

13. And the fire ants made a meal of it.

Reply to Hoppy (Reply #12)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:55 PM

Sep 2015

If it happened on my road the buzzards would've made short work of it.

GoCubsGo

(32,086 posts)

18. Thanks!

Reply to TexasProgresive (Reply #10)

Sat Sep 5, 2015, 10:19 AM

Sep 2015

Glad they caught it. I am generally not a fan of keeping captive wild animals, as it is. But, this is just nuts.

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)

11. There are apparently many thousands of highly poisonous

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Fri Sep 4, 2015, 10:48 PM

Sep 2015

snakes owned by people who think it's cool to do so. A while back I was watching a series on Netflix about such people who'd been killed by their "exotic" pets. A lot of people are idiots.

Mister Ed

(5,940 posts)

14. CNN fails to mention that Florida is full of deadly venomous snakes.

Reply to RandySF (Original post)

Sat Sep 5, 2015, 12:10 AM

Sep 2015

It's the natural home of coral snakes, rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouth water moccasins. The coral snake is related to the cobra, and has a similar sort of venom.

http://venomoussnakesfl.com/coral.htm