8-foot cobra caught after exhaustive search

NEEDVILLE, Texas – An 8-foot-long king cobra is back in its enclosure after escaping for at least 9 hours Wednesday in Needville.

The owner, 23-year-old Jared Zellars, says he first discovered the deadly snake was gone at 7 a.m.

"I usually use hooks, I double check everything and lock all the cages she just happened to break through. The plastic was bent or something I don't know how she did it," he said.

Wildlife officers and deputies spent hours searching for the snake even shooting and killing a snake that turned out to be a cottonmouth, experts say.

"This snake is long, it's solid green in color. If it gets agitated it raises head and flares the hood...it's a king cobra," said Texas Parks and Wildlife Capt. Nick Harmon.

LINK: What to do if you're bitten by a snake

The king cobra's venom can be lethal.

"One bite could kill an elephant or up to 20 men," said Ft. Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls.

Needville ISD cancelled recess at its nearby middle school.

At 3:45 p.m. Wednesday professional snake wrangler Clint Pustejovsky and his partner spotted the snake 20 feet from the barn where it escaped its cage.

"He pulled it out by its tail I grabbed it with these tongs here to hold it still so it wouldn't bite anybody. Put it in the bag and put it back in cage, locked the cage," Pustejovsky said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife officials said the king cobra was one of 25 mostly poisonous snakes Zellars owns and has permits for.

Zellars says he keeps them as pets.

Harmon said Zellars could face charges for not immediately reporting the snake missing.

Zellars' employer said he has been terminated, and that this incident was the last straw after other incidents. 

And an interesting side note to mention, the cobra has a Twitter account - @KingCobraFBCTX. KPRC 2 has been tweeting with the cobra in an effort to find out its location. Apparently, it stopped by Whataburger to get a patty melt.

The king cobra is the longest of all venomous snakes in the world; they frequently reach 13 feet long, and the world record is 18 feet! Though it is not a true cobra, the neck features a hood which can be widened when the snake feels threatened.

VIDEO: What happens if you're bitten by a cobra?

Female king cobras make a nest for their eggs, by scraping up leaves and other vegetation to make a mound.

Some facts about king cobras, courtesy of the Houston Zoo:

• Scientific Name: Ophiophagus hannah
• Range: India, China, Malayasia, Indonesia, Philippines
• Status in the Wild: Vulnerable
• Location in the Zoo: Reptile and Amphibian House.
• Cool Animal Fact: When this snake is threatened, instead of hissing, the king cobra makes a distinctive growl which emanates from the throat. The growl deepens as the snake grows longer with age.