Venomous cobra captured after escaping Florida home

Buckingham residents were breathing a sigh of relief Saturday after a venomous snake was captured – one day after it escaped from a home.

Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission bagged the serpent near the intersection of Stratton Road and Kitty Hawk Drive Saturday.

Officer Stuart Spoede, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, expressed his surprise that the snake was recovered so quickly after it escaped.

Witnesses told FWC they first reported seeing what appeared to be a cobra in the area on Friday around 2 p.m. All of Pellicer’s other remaining reptiles are accounted for. Residents are upset the snake had been missing since Wednesday, but Pellicer didn’t report it until Friday. “It was pretty scared with all the people around, so it didn’t actually bow up and hood up at us”, said Greg Graziani, who owns his own reptile recovery business. They captured the snake before it escaped again. “It’s frightening because of the kids”.

The monocled cobra is venomous with varying levels of potency depending on the origin of the snake. Eventually, volunteers found the snake close to where it had been spotted before. “It was curled up right next to the guy’s house”, Spoede said.

FWC says they are happy the community can sleep easy tonight. The cobra is being held in a licensed facility.