State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Slippery Snake Needs a Name

Egyptian Cobra at Louisville Zoo, Ky
Two weeks ago, a poisonous Egyptian cobra created quite a stir when it slithered away from its habitat at the Bronx Zoo. After zookeepers and other officials performed an extensive hunt to find the slippery snake, it was ultimately captured, though not before reserving a room for the night at the Hilton Hotel. Despite its fame, the slippery reptile remained nameless. Shortly after, however, the Bronx Zoo released an online poll asking participants to vote on five names in hopes of giving the celebrity a fitting identity. Fans of the cunning cobra had until this morning to vote among the following choices: Amaunet, a primordial goddess in Ancient Egyptian religion; Agnes, the Greek for “holy” or “pure;” Cleopatra, after the famous pharaoh who allegedly killed herself with a cobra bite; Subira, the Egyptian word for “patience;” and my personal favorite, Mia, which is a play on words for โ€œMissing In Actionโ€. Though we will have to wait until tomorrow (Thursday) before the official name is announced, you can still vote on the Facebook Page of The Center for Environmental Research to join the fun!

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jasmin
jasmin
12 years ago

The snake looks so extreme. I checked the poll and it says ” Voting on the five finalists has now closed, as we tally the results. Come back on Thursday to find out the winner.”
I hope my vote will win..anyway, I voted for Amaunet – goddess. reason for that? Nothing.

abaya dubai
12 years ago

It’s too Dangerous, The venom of the Egyptian cobra is mainly neurotoxic, the average venom quantity typically reaches 175 to 200 mg in a single bite. It’s venom affect the nervous system stopping the nerve signals from being transmitted to the muscles and at later stages stopping those transmitted to the heart and lungs as well.

and I’m from Egypt btw ๐Ÿ™‚

Online Werbeagentur
12 years ago

“The Egyptian cobra typically makes its home in dry to moist savanna and semi-desert regions with at least some water and vegetation.” I guess a night at the Hilton Hotel is not the worst thing that could have happened to this little snake ๐Ÿ˜‰ No but seriously Mia is a great name. Does anyone know what name the snake finally got?

Mark
12 years ago

I’m all for Mia, seems apropos. Boy, talk about dodging a bullet. This is a story that could have had a very unhappy ending. Thankfully, this was a case of no harm, no foul.

Nachhaltigkeit
12 years ago

I can only agree with OW and Mark here. This story could have had a bad or unhappy ending but fortunately everything went smoothly here. I also like the name MIA since it is a funny abbreviation that really is perfect for this little snake. Anybody know already what the snakes actual name has become?

Zahnarzt Ulm
Zahnarzt Ulm
12 years ago

This story is kind of frightening me a little. Let’s just say I am not a huge fan of snakes and when I hear that they are this poisenous it is even harder to like them ๐Ÿ˜‰ But in the end the snake was caught and all are happy.
I give a nother thumps up for MIA – actually an awesome idea to call a missing snake MIA – missing in action. Sometimes the simple ideas in life are the best.