Cobra Snake Transferred to LA Zoo

An expert says a cobra that prowled a Southern California neighborhood for days had intact venom glands and could have given a deadly bite.

The monocled cobra was captured Thursday in Thousand Oaks – where it was slithering around since at least Monday – and was taken to the Los Angeles Zoo. It’s going to be transferred to the San Diego Zoo.

Authorities had called the white snake an albino but the LA Zoo’s reptile and amphibian curator, Ian Recchio, says it’s got a lack of pigment condition called leucism (LOO’-sih-zihm).

He says the snake appears to be healthy and probably chowed down on rats and mice while it was loose.

Cobras are generally illegal in California. Recchio says the snake apparently was bred in captivity.

Authorities are trying to find the owner.