Published: Less than 30 min ago
Flour and dead rats will help capture the king cobra that escaped from Skansen’s terrarium.
Still – a day after its disappearance – the 2.5 meter long snake is on the run.
It was during the Saturday afternoon that Skansenakvariet was evacuated after a king cobra escaped from its terrarium.
– He has now been named Houdini, the breakout king after the well-known magician, says Jonas Wahlström, who owns the Skansenakvariet.
During yesterday, several measures were put in place, among other things staff put out flour to be able to see where the snake was winding, but they also put out a decoy. After first disappearing without a trace, they have managed to locate the snake up in a ceiling of the terrarium.
– We are looking for the snake and we have put in some dead rats that can attract him back.
But during Sunday morning, the hunt is still ongoing.
– It is not out in the visitor area but behind the scenes. It is cooler there and it is resting. It takes time to look for a snake. We know approximately what area it is in. It is on the inner ceiling or at the ceiling of the terrarium section. If it goes outside, it will be cooled down, as it wants to be 30 degrees.
The king cobra had only been in the terrarium for one day on Saturday, where he was placed to try to get a mating with one of Skansen’s other snakes. He has previously been at Skansen but in a different terrarium. According to Jonas Wahlström, the snake was curious and managed to get out when he curiously explored his new home.
– It was new to the terrarium, was curious and stretched and went out through the fixture. There are lights in the ceiling where it has managed to run between. We have had king cobras before and something like this has never happened before, says Jonas Wahlström.
On Sunday, the aquarium is closed to visitors. However, it is possible to visit the entrance hall.
TT: What happens if a visitor meets the snake?
– It will never meet a visitor. It is poisonous, however, it is not aggressive.
Has something similar happened before?
– We had a lemur that escaped several years ago in the winter.
Will you take any safety precautions when the snake is captured?
– Of course we have to change the fixture, otherwise there are no escape options.