GREAT! Now a lady gets bitten by a cobra in a shopping center parking lot!

[Beardedragon]

Well, you know, if I happened to see a stick that looked just like a real live cobra, I'd probably pick it up too!

Er... wait a minute. First I'd run away. Then I'd find a REALLY long stick, to poke at the other stick, and make sure it is just a stick. THEN I'd pick it up. That's assuming I ever believed for half a second that it was a stick in the first place.

But then what if that other really long stick was the Cobra, and the other was just in fact a cobra looking stick?

LOL, really though, She then bagged the snake and took it somewhere? If I were bit I think id call 911... I think drugs were involved if she could stay that calm.

[Elise.m]

I think the stick picking up is definitely fishy. Before I was even into Herps, I knew that if you're bit by a venomous snake it helps the drs to see the snake to decide which antivenom they should give you. I learned that just from watching Animal Planet.

I think it's a far stretch to say that she happened to watch the same shows and came to the same conclusion.

[wolfy-hound]

I'd love to know exactly what sort of "bag"she had it in. Because I'll bet it was a snake bag like us herpers keep around for our PET snakes.

I'll join in. It's her snake, or her kid's or boyfriend's, and she messed with it and got bit, lied to prevent them/her from getting into trouble, and yes, I'd pick up a stick. But if I picked up a stick, you can darn well know it would be a STICK, not a cobra. Similarities aside, one is wood, one is snake, it's not normally too hard to tell the difference.

[wilomn]

I'd love to know exactly what sort of "bag"she had it in. Because I'll bet it was a snake bag like us herpers keep around for our PET snakes.

I'll join in. It's her snake, or her kid's or boyfriend's, and she messed with it and got bit, lied to prevent them/her from getting into trouble, and yes, I'd pick up a stick. But if I picked up a stick, you can darn well know it would be a STICK, not a cobra. Similarities aside, one is wood, one is snake, it's not normally too hard to tell the difference.

Exactly.

I know I always keep a container or two and at least two snake bags in my car, but I make my living with reptiles, occasionally make purchases or trades, and rarely, go out into the field to find them.

I don't see a non-snake owner having a snake bag handy nor the skill to bag a cobra. I've bagged cobras. It's not easy.

[BPelizabeth]

Oh what H-E double hockey sticks....put it in a macy's bag

[xdeus]

I'll play the devil's advocate even though I, too, think something is fishy about this story.

If I wasn't into snakes and saw an interesting looking stick on the ground, I would probably pick it up or at least take a closer look. A cobra-looking stick would probably be a pretty awesome stick, as far as sticks go.

Also, I don't believe the story mentioned whether or not the snake was dead. She may have killed the snake during her cobra-induced adrenalin rush, then found whatever bag was laying around.

However, even with those two scenarios, I still find it highly unlikely that a cobra would be wandering around a parking lot in Baltimore during the winter...

[Stalker Jesus]

I don't think the zoo would keep a dead cobra

[WesleyTF]

I think the whole thing is BS, but the bagging doesn't surprise me... a cobra in baltimore would be easy to bag this time of year. It'd be frozen(and dead)

[WesleyTF]

it'd also be easy to calculate how long the snake would have to live if someone knew the temp in the area at the time. Assume it started from the best possible temp and use newton's law of cooling. It wouldn't be long before it'd be too cold to live.

[Clear]

Harrison believes ownership of venomous snakes should be strictly regulated, and owners should be required to keep their own antivenin.

I agree to atleast the later of the 2