Are Cobras Loose in North Carolina?

[Miss Whiplash]

We are having snake tale week in central North Carolina.

First an old boy down near Fayetteville saw a strange snake. From the Fayetteville Observer (http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=294217):

Vernon Byrd said he isn’t sure just what type of snake he spotted Tuesday in the Cedar Creek community.

But he’s pretty sure about a few things: It was big. It was fast. And it wasn’t from these parts, as folks would say.

The local news immediately proclaimed the man saw a cobra, even through the actual description sounded more like a coachwhip snake.

Now people are seeing cobras elsewhere. From today on WITN (http://www.witntv.com/home/headlines/19186249.html):

There is still no sighting of a deadly snake that's on the loose in Onslow County.

A resident on Mill Farms Road, that's off Piney Green Road, saw a Monocled Cobra under her back deck yesterday.

Last night officials said they believed the snake was released by a group trying to raise awareness in making it illegal for people to own exotic animals.

But the public relations director for the Animal Protection Institute says her organization had nothing to do with the snake release.

Officials say they found a flyer indicating someone lost two cobras, while Thursday night just one was spotted by the resident.

Am I alone in thinking this is BS? The timing is very suspicious. Or should get a pair of snake boots?

[this charming man]

I'll bet it was a trouser snake

[grayman]

Am I alone in thinking this is BS?

Bull Snake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Snake)? Nah, doesn't sound like one. :)

[JoeEllison]

Time to call in G.I. Joe?

[Pope130]

I think all the Cobras around Fayetteville were replaced by Apaches about 20 years ago.

[Miss Whiplash]

I'll trade you a hognose snake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hognose)! :D

Of course you know, the local hysteria is getting to me.

[Locknar]

This is exactly why we have "Whacking Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whacking_Day)". Gentleman, grab your sticks and start whacking! *




*The Simpson's, Season 4, 20th episode

[Miss Whiplash]

If it should prove true that a cobra or cobras are afoot, I'll just get one of these (http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700814032.html).

[Locknar]

If it should prove true that a cobra or cobras are afoot, I'll just get one of these (http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700814032.html).Good golly Miss Molly; that's some serious fire power for just a snake.

[Miss Whiplash]

Well, it's less messy than my mom's favorite way to dispatch snake. She just turns on the lawn mower and gives it a push.

[Locknar]

Well, it's less messy than my mom's favorite way to dispatch snake. She just turns on the lawn mower and gives it a push.*lol* I have to say, for poisonous snakes that is a bit to close for me.

We have lots of Black Snakes here...I'll just pick them up and throw them into the woods. Sure, they bite...but it does not hurt.

We also have Copper Heads; I just dispatch them with a 410. It's small...but as long as you don't miss not a issue :)

[Miss Whiplash]

We have copperheads around here and plenty of other miscellaneous non-venomous snakes. Down at home, in the eastern part of the state, there are copperheads, rattlesnakes and water moccasins. To be very honest, nothing gets a girly scream out of me like snakes. Usually I never wait around to see if they are venomous or not- I just run in the opposite direction. :rolleyes:

[Aitch]

Makes me glad I live in a country where the only snakes are pretty harmless. And protected species, come to that.:)

[Ravenwood]

If it should prove true that a cobra or cobras are afoot, I'll just get one of these (http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700814032.html).

Heck, get one of these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA8KF7f3BeQ
I like mine, & I was surprised at how well it fed.

[Fiona]

"We can't handle this, chief. This is a job for........Rikitikitavi."

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g291/castlechariot/mongoose.jpg

[Locknar]

We have copperheads around here and plenty of other miscellaneous non-venomous snakes. Down at home, in the eastern part of the state, there are copperheads, rattlesnakes and water moccasins. To be very honest, nothing gets a girly scream out of me like snakes. Usually I never wait around to see if they are venomous or not- I just run in the opposite direction. :rolleyes:Aye...you do have an assortment down your way.

I suspect if there are any in "the wild" your way they are former pets that have been let go. The "Spitting Cobra" is particularly nasty as, as the name suggests, it can spit venom which can cause blindness.

[GT/CS]

Could they be shape-shifting bigfeet?

[Gene L]

If it weren't so big, it could be a "spreading adder" the popular name for whatever the snake is that spreads out its neck, somewhat like a cobra. "Spreadin'adder". They're here in GA, don't know about NC. Don't see them very often. They're non-poisonous. Other snakes can hiss, don't know about a spreading adder.

As for cobras, we saw them in Viet Nam. A guy in my battalion had one spit in his eye...yes, that's right, spit in his eye. He was maybe five feet away from it, and made eye contanct. As I recall, his name was Blankenship, and he was the company RTO.

It didn't do any lasting harm to his eye, but he was medovaced out for a good check.

Cobras weren't very aggressive, unless they felt threatened. And they weren't especially fast, for a snake. There were far more deadly snakes than cobras.

[Bikewer]

Being a long-time amateur herpetologist... (well, when I was younger) I'm aware that folks see snakes in a manner that has little to do with reality; it's all conditioned by expectations and fear.
Nearly any poor serpent in the backyard is likely to be a "copperhead". Never mind that it's green and has long yellow stripes. Nope, "Copperhead, ain't it, officer? Killed it with my shovel!" Guy would always be very proud of having protected his family....

Likewise, any snake in the water is a "cottonmouth". Never mind that the water moccasin is a semi-tropic species, and the Northernmost range is about the Boot Heel area of Missouri.

We had a bit of a cobra scare here years ago, when one of the zoo's specimens escaped. Thing went unfound for nearly a week, making zoo visitors somewhat nervous....

[Miss Whiplash]

I know the snake you're talking about GeneL. It's a hognose snake. They puff up, spread their neck and put on a great show. Then if you don't go away, they go belly up and play dead.

What's so exasperating about the report is the public reaction. On local news sites, a few people are voicing skepticism as these reports are second and third hand supposed sightings. The rest have pushed the panic button and are reacting hysterically. Some gems:

"Now cobras will be native to North America."

"These cobras will inbreed with native snakes and we will have super snakes."

"This is why America's borders should be closed. If snakes can get in, then a dirty nose bomb will get in."

I have no idea what that last person was babbling about.

The original report of the cobra near Fayetteville, the man never said he actually saw a cobra. He saw no hood. What he did say was the snake "raised up cobra-like." Even though he appeared on a local radio show to clarify what he said, the news media is still saying he saw a king cobra.

If by chance someone's pet cobra is on the loose, as you say, they are not as aggressive as our native pit vipers. Pit vipers strike quickly and repeatedly. Also, come winter, if a cobra is loose in the wild, it will die.

I'm really disheartened people are so gullible.

[Gene L]

"This is why America's borders should be closed. If snakes can get in, then a dirty nose bomb will get in."

Maybe he meant a "dirty nose bum." ;)