Durban - A zoo in Sweden is on a temporary lockdown and not because of a virus, but because a 2.5 metre King Cobra escaped its closure and is on the loose.
The Skansen Zoo in Stockholm said the snake escaped over the weekend, according to reports.
The 8 foot (around 2.48 metres) king cobra is named "Sir Väs" ("Sir Hiss"), Euronews reported, and had arrived at Skansen Zoo just days before his escape.
The director of the zoo says the snake will not ome out because of the cold weather.
In a video taken by a zoo visitor, Sir Hiss can be seen slithering his way through a gap near a light fitting inside his enclosure.
According to reports, Sir Hiss escaped on Saturday after his enclosure was fitted with energy saving bulbs.
Staff have resorted to using flour, sticky traps, and special cameras to try and catch Sir Hiss, and believed he was hiding in the ceiling of the reptile section of the zoo.
"He won't come out, in theory, it's so cold outside that he would fall asleep," Skansen Aquarium director Jonas Wahlström told AFP.
"He must be a smart guy. The old lamps were too hot, which kept the snakes away.“
Native to the Asian continent, king cobras are the world’s largest venomous snake which mainly feed off other snakes.
Their bite can be lethal to human beings.
Skansen, an open air zoo, has been keeping them for around 15 years, according to reports.
IOL