Sssssafe and sssssound.
The cold-blooded Egyptian cobra that warmed hearts after it vanished from its Bronx Zoo quarters last week has been found and is "alive and well," zoo officials said.
A Twitter account attracted more than 200,000 followers as it imagined the animal celebrating its freedom, but the famous 24-inch snake never made it out of the Reptile House.
It was found around 9 a.m. Thursday, coiled and alone in a dark corner there, said Jim Breheny, zoo director.
"The key strategy here in recovering this snake was patience," he said.
Zoo workers had swept the Reptile House three times a day since the rare cobra went missing, and kept the lights dim and environment quiet to encourage her to show herself.
"We had to give her a chance to feel secure and comfortable so she would come out and explore her environment," Breheny said.
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Workers also sprinkled wood shavings infused with the scent of mice and rats to entice the snake out of hiding.
The cobra is resting and will be observed for any health problems. The zoo plans an investigation to find out how she got out of her holding area.
The sassy Twitter snake, @BronxZoosCobra, has not commented on its capture.
It hinted in a tweet Thursday it was enjoying Yankees Opening Day.
"If you see a bag of peanuts inexplicably moving along the ground at Yankee Stadium today. Just ignore it. It's probably nothing."
