Animal News
Venomous snake escaped from its cage is on the loose in Grand Prairie
A dangerous snake that escaped from its cage is on the loose in Grand Prairie.
According to the Grand Prairie Police Department, the snake is a venomous West African Banded Cobra, which was reported missing to Grand Prairie Animal Services on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 at around 6:30 pm.
The snake went missing from a residence in the 1800 block of Cherry Street, when the owner noticed it was missing from its enclosure at around 5 pm.
On Tuesday night, Animal Services, the owner, and an expert in recovering snakes searched for the critter inside and outside of his residence but were unable to find it.
The Grand Prairie police are asking residents who live in the area and see any type of snake believed to be the missing cobra to call 911.
The West African Banded Cobra snake is venomous and dangerous, so residents are discouraged from approaching the snake or trying to catch it.
And yet ownership of snakes like this is permitted by the State of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The owner told a WFAA reporter that the cobra got out after a cage malfunction. "If we would have just had a lock on the cage… it could have simply been handled," the owner said.
Why is it always people like this who own venomous snakes.
In a similar situation, a zebra cobra got lost in Raleigh, North Carolina, in June, and terrorized the neighborhood until it was found a few days later on a neighbor's porch. The owner of that snake is facing multiple misdemeanor charges for not reporting it missing, and for keeping venomous snakes in improper enclosures. He had 75 snakes in his possession.
A few years ago, two escaped from their enclosure in an apartment in Dallas.
Those familiar with snakes say that cobras like to go underground, and loose are often found hiding inside something.
