Bronx Zoo, Dec. 22 2015 – The stowaway Indian cobra rescued last week from a container ship, which was docked at a New Jersey port, has died.

A necropsy conducted yesterday at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo Wildlife Health Center revealed that the snake was very thin with no fat reserves. It also had no food in its stomach, indicating that while at sea it failed to eat. 

The Bronx Zoo was called by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Dec. 14 to remove the snake from the hold of the ship which was bound for Port Elizabeth via Singapore. The snake had been discovered Dec. 10 by the ship’s crew while they were out at sea.

Bronx Zoo herpetologists located the cobra on the ship in temperatures estimated to be 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit below optimum conditions for its survival. It was cold, dehydrated, and exposed to oil residue and saltwater. Once at the zoo, the snake was held in quarantine and cared for by the zoo’s team of herpetologists and veterinarians.

“The cobra was found on the ship in very poor condition and had not eaten for at least several weeks,” said Jim Breheny, Director of the Bronx Zoo and Executive Vice President of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Zoos and Aquarium. “We did what we could to save him and we are disappointed the snake has died.”

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.

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