The Bronx Zoo has misplaced a 3-foot-long venomous snake and is now informing patrons of the potentially dangerous reptile’s unknown whereabouts. The escape artist, a mangrove snake, slithered out of its enclosure in the “Jungle World” exhibit on Tuesday night. Officials have reportedly kept the exhibit open, telling visitors in a newly posted sign that the snake is “mildly venomous, but not dangerous to people.” Mangrove snakes have never killed anyone, but their venom “can cause painful swelling and discoloration of the skin,” according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.“Mangrove snakes are a shy, arboreal species that are active at night,” reads the Zoo’s sign. “There is little chance of seeing or coming in contact with this snake due to its timid, secretive nature but if you see it, please notify a staff person.”
